[Grammar] It's better/would be better to tell us ...

[kadioguy]

It's better to tell us the source and much better with the screenshot.

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/277577-find-to-find-out?p=1571049&viewfull=1#post1571049


a. It's better to tell us the source ...
b. It would be better to tell us the source ...

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1. In this context can I use both?

2. Do they have different effects? If they do, could you tell me?

 

[emsr2d2]

They're both possible. I prefer "It's" because I read it as "It is always better to tell us the source ..."

 

[kadioguy]

They're both possible. I prefer "It's" because I read it as "It is always better to tell us the source ..."

b. It would be better to tell us the source ...

So can we say that (b) means that it is for this single case and for other cases there may be other possibilities?

 

[kadioguy]

b. It would be better to tell us the source ...

So can we say that (b) means that it is for this single case and for other cases there may be other possibilities?

I mean, (b) means that it is for this time, rather than every time. [Compare it to (a)]

What do you think?

 

[GoesStation]

I mean, (b) means that it is for this time, rather than every time. [Compare it to (a)]

What do you think?

That's right.

 

[emsr2d2]

I understand the distinction you're making there but I'm not sure I 100% agree with it. If I were referring just to one post, I would reply with "It would have been better if you had told us the source".

 

[kadioguy]

I understand the distinction you're making there but I'm not sure I 100% agree with it. If I were referring just to one post, I would reply with "It would have been better if you had told us the source".

So now we have three responses:

a. It's better to tell us the source ...
b. It would be better to tell us the source ...
c. It would have been better to tell us the source...
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(a) is for every time. (c) is for that one time. Can we say that (b) is more like (a), but that (b) includes a little bit of uncertainty?

 

[kadioguy]

So now we have three responses:

a. It's better to tell us the source ...
b. It would be better to tell us the source ...
c. It would have been better to tell us the source...
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(a) is for every time. (c) is for that one time. Can we say that (b) is more like (a), but that (b) includes a little bit of uncertainty?

Maybe this thought is reasonable to some extent. What do you think?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. There is no hint of uncertainty in any of them.

 

[kadioguy]

No. There is no hint of uncertainty in any of them.

a. It's better to tell us the source ...
b. It would be better to tell us the source ...

Can we say that (b) is an a little indirect, polite version of (a)?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. "It would be better" is not a version of "It's better". As I explained before, using the present simple is stating a general fact - "It is always better to do XXX". Using "It would be better ..." is more like a suggestion for the future. "It would be better to tell us the source in post 1 in your next thread and in all future threads".

 

[kadioguy]

No. "It would be better" is not a version of "It's better". As I explained before, using the present simple is stating a general fact - "It is always better to do XXX". Using "It would be better ..." is more like a suggestion for the future. "It would be better to tell us the source in post 1 in your next thread and in all future threads".

Thank you for the reply, emsr2d2.

I swear this is the last question in the thread:

b. It would be better to tell us the source ...
d. It will be better to tell us the source ...

It seems that (d) is used much less frequently than (b). I am not sure why. What different effects do (b) and (d) have?

 

[Tarheel]

Example (d) is possible in the following sentence.

It will be better to tell us the source next time.

It is, I think, less likely than the others.

 

[kadioguy]

b. It would be better to tell us the source ...
d. It will be better to tell us the source ...

It seems that (d) is used much less frequently than (b). I am not sure why. What different effects do (b) and (d) have?

I guess this is because post #1 is in the past, so "will" doesn't work there. Am I right?

 

[GoesStation]

I guess this is because post #1 is in the past, so "will" doesn't work there. Am I right?

No. "Will" doesn't work because it expresses an expectation for which there's no evident justification.

 

[kadioguy]

No. "Will" doesn't work because it expresses an expectation for which there's no evident justification.

I don't understand this part. Telling us the source is always better than not, isn't it? :-?

 

[GoesStation]

d. It will be better to tell us the source ...

No. "Will" doesn't work because it expresses an expectation for which there's no evident justification.

I don't understand this part. Telling us the source is always better than not, isn't it? :-?

Yes. But you have no reason to think that someone is going to do that. When you say "it will be better to tell us the source", it means that you expect an unknown agent to tell us the source. You may be an optimist, but it's not reasonable to hold that expectation in this situation. You should use "would" to express the conditional situation: "it would be better" means that, if someone tells us the source, that will be better.