What is the difference between the following sentences?
(1) You/I need to do it
(2) You/I would need to do it
Do we use the second one for distancing from reality and being more polite?
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(2) could occur in backshift or express modal remoteness depending on context. – BillJ Nov 24 '20 at 17:48
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1You need more context to be sure. In some contexts the would is required, in some it is just a linguistic flourish that can be excluded without loss, in some it is wrong usage. We need to know what prompted the statement to give advice. – jwpfox Nov 24 '20 at 21:04
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"I need to do it."
This usage expresses immediate necessity - similar to "must do it" but it shows less emphasis and obligation.
"I would need to do it."
In this example, the modal expresses a hypothetical situation such as a conditional:
"[If something happened,] I would need..."
or can imply the behavior of a person, or a different temporal view(time of utterance).
It doesn't necessarily mean the speaker wants to be polite, though it can in a different context.
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Could you please clarify what you mean by "the behaviour of a person" or "a different temporal view"? – F.K Nov 30 '20 at 3:56
Both the sentences are correct. The word would sounds less direct & more polite. Besides, would indicates a possibility, i.e., I'm not yet certain to do something : I would need to do it if you want. Here my decision depends on whether you want.
answered Nov 24 '20 at 12:31
