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，應從 subjunctive mood 入手。但中文沒有 subjunctive mood ，要解釋恐怕會相當費勁。

Subjunctive mood 中文是虛擬語態，用來描述一些不會發生或者發生機會不大的事情。例如：如果地球是平的，我就不要住在地球的邊緣，因為掉下去的機會太大了。但事實上地球是圓的，所以我們表達上述的意思時，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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