What is the difference between Would and Could?

The word would is a verb and is used to express something that will transpire in the future, such as, “I told you I would go to the store on my way home.” This is a statement made in the past about an intention to do something in the future. Would is also a conditional verb in that I would do something if something happened, like “I would make the bed if I weren’t going to use it another time tonight.”

The word could is also a verb and is used to express something in the future but is the past tense of can. An example would be the children are so excited they could not sleep. Another example would be “if I were younger, I could run faster.” Would and could are the past tense of will and can.

Would and could are both popularly used English words. Would is the past tense of ‘will’, while could is the past tense of ‘can’. These words are used in sentence context as a past tense, and also as a present tense when making request. It can also be used in some other expressions too, which shall be discussed in this article. ‘Will’ in its own context can be used in referring to what will be done in the future (future tense), while ‘would’ denotes a past tense.

For example; ‘I will read my book every day when I resume for next semester’, and “would” as ‘I would always read my book every day last semester’. ‘Can’ is used in referring to the ability for something to be done, and ‘could’ is the past tense. For example; ‘I train every day so that I can play well on the pitch’, and “could” as ‘I trained every day so that I could play well on the pitch’.

Would and Could are both past tense words of the English language. Would is the past tense of the world will and refers to the past tense of doing something. An example of using the word is the sentence "My grandmother and I would ride the bus to the store on Friday mornings". Could is the past tense of the word can and refers to a person's capability of doing something.

An example of using this word in a sentence is "He could eat the whole pizza by himself". Both words can also be used at a beginning of a question, to help display manners. Examples include "Would you grab my bag?" Or "Could you hold that door for us?"