What does 'would' mean in the below sentence?

[jesicaporter]

Hello ,

Main sentence:"I'm afraid of telling him out of fear of rejection"
Question about above sentence on Past tense:
"Was She afraid he would say no?"
That's right, yes. She was afraid of rejection.

In the mentioned sentence 'He would say' mean:
1-Would imagine, say, think, etc. (that)… used to give opinions that you are not certain about?
Or
2-Would is past of 'will'?

 

[5jj]

2 - Would is past of 'will'?

Yes, in this case. 'Will' is backshifted in this indirect speech construction.

 

[BobK]

1, 'Was [STRIKE]S[/STRIKE]she afraid he would say no [if she asked him]?(And, as 5jj said, in that context "will"'s back-shifted)

'She' is a character in King Solomon's Mines. ;-)

b