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I tried to look this up on Google with no luck. It's confusing to me because some results use present tense while some others use past tense. What's the difference or could I use both?
Examples:
A) Would this be the year he retires?
B) Would this be the year he retired?
C) and & D) are the same as A) and B) but with "Will" instead of "Would"
C - Will this be the year he retires? seems the most natural to me, meaning "Does he plan to retire this year?"
D - (will/retired) doesn't make sense.
A and B are not particularly natural. We sometimes use would to ask a question very tentatively (perhaps the man's intention to retire is a delicate subject). B might possibly be used when discussing a year in the past.
