[General] Did vs would.

[arjitsharma]

1. Why did you do so ?2. Why would you do so ?what is the deference between the above sentences ?Thanks inadvance.

 

[probus]

There is really very little difference. I tend to use them interchangeably in my everyday speech.

But if pressed by a teacher or an exam question to find a diffference I would fall back on the literal meaning of the words. "Why did you ..." simply accepts as fact that you did. "Why would you ..." on the other hand, may permit or encourage discssion of your thoughts. What was going through your mind when you decided to ...

 

[teechar]

I disagree.
For a start, I would more likely say "why did/would you do that" instead.

"Why did you do that" is about something you already did. "Why would you do that" is about something you may do (in the future).

For example,

A: I threw away all the bread yesterday.
B: Why did you do that?
A: Because it was stale.

------------

A: If I ever won the lotto, I would donate 90% of the money to charity.
B: Why would you do that?
A: Just to help those in need.

 

[emsr2d2]

1. Why did you do so?
2. Why would you do so?

​What is the [STRIKE]deference[/STRIKE] difference between the above sentences? Thanks [STRIKE]inadvance[/STRIKE] in advance.

Arjitsharma, please note my corrections to your post above. Please don't post everything on one line. You need to make your posts easier to read.

It is important to follow these rules of written English at all times:
- Start every sentence with a capital letter.
- End every sentence with one, appropriate punctuation mark.
- Always capitalise the word "I".
- Do not put a space before a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
- Always put a space after a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

Both of your questions are a little unnatural. It's more common to hear "Why did you do that?" or "Why would you do that?"

You might hear either one after someone has done something and someone else can't understand their justification for doing it.

Mum: Tommy, what have you done?
Tommy: I threw your favourite vase across the room!
Mum: Why did you do that?
Tommy: I wanted to see if the dog could catch it.

Mum: Tommy, what have you done?
Tommy: I threw your favourite vase across the room.
Mum: Why would you do that?!
Tommy: I wanted to see if the dog could catch it.

The only slight difference is that the mother would probably have a more irritated, angry tone of voice in the second.