Ask & Learn聞問切英語口語: Wouldn't want to

讀者 Daniel 在電影 Spread 中聽到以下對白：

I'd let you sleep in my bed, but I wouldn't want to get you confused.

Daniel 問：如果把 "I wouldn't want to" 改成 "I don't want to"，會否令意思有所不同？

如果改成 "I don't want to"，是會對意思有些微的改動。要了解 don't 和 wouldn't 的分別，應(yīng)從 subjunctive mood 入手。但中文沒有 subjunctive mood ，要解釋恐怕會相當(dāng)費勁。

Subjunctive mood 中文是虛擬語態(tài)，用來描述一些不會發(fā)生或者發(fā)生機(jī)會不大的事情。例如：如果地球是平的，我就不要住在地球的邊緣，因為掉下去的機(jī)會太大了。但事實上地球是圓的，所以我們表達(dá)上述的意思時，就要采用 subjunctive mood ："If the earth were flat, I wouldn't want to live on its edge." 這里必須用 wouldn't，don't 是肯定錯的。

Daniel 提出的句子也用了 subjunctive mood。"I'd let you sleep in my bed" 就是指出雖然說話的人不介意，但他不能讓對方睡在自己的床上，因為他不想對方會錯意。因此這里應(yīng)用 "wouldn't want to"。

相反，如果劇中人打算讓對方睡在自己的床上，但提醒對方不要會錯意，就應(yīng)采用 declarative mood 了：

I'll let you sleep in my bed, but I don't want to get you confused.

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