[Grammar] Would meaning

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Bambik27

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I would like to understand this sentence more.
" I told you, nothing would happen between us because you are married."
So, is there any difference if I say: "I told you, nothing will happen between us because you are married." Do both have same meaning? What that first exactly means, because that would confuse me little. Thanks for help ;-)
 

emsr2d2

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I would like to understand this sentence more.
" I told you, nothing would happen between us because you are married."
So, is there any difference if I say: "I told you, nothing will happen between us because you are married." Do both have same meaning? What that first exactly means, because that would confuse me little. Thanks for help ;-)

They are very similar but they don't mean the same thing. Let me set a scene:

A man and a woman meet. They like each other. She is married. The man says to her "I know we like each other, but I want you to know that nothing will happen between us because you are married".

She is a little disappointed, perhaps, but decides to wait and see what happens.

They are friends for six months (just a random timescale). At the end of the six months, she says "I can't believe it. We've been friends for six months, we like each other, but nothing happened between us".

He says "I told you nothing would happen between us because you are married".

So at the beginning of the story, the man is making a prediction about the future. At the end of the story, the future is now the present and he is reminding her that six months ago, his prediction was that nothing would happen. He was right. Nothing happened.

In this story, "would" behaves a little like the past tense of "will" now that the timeframe which used to be in the future is now in the past!
 

2010

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Thanks for your inputs emsr2d2!

Adding to it further...

Is this sentence correct and is the implementation of "would" correct?

If so, what does "would" mean here?

Please do not worry; I would do my best to help you in assisting you with this issue.
 

euncu

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***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

Please do not worry; I would do my best to help you in assisting you with this issue.

Normally, you give someone your word by saying "I will".

or

"I would do my best to help you [STRIKE]in assisting you[/STRIKE] with this issue but only if you promise me not to make the same mistakes again.
 
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