wouldn't

English translation: wouldn’t do it

22:49 Jul 25, 2020

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / American novel

English term or phrase: wouldn't

The husband is going to fix a dinner for himself and his wife (Melinda) and daughter. What wouldn't Melinda do? Put potatoes on or eat?

"He got out some frozen peas. Peas, a big salad of lettuce and tomato, and the chops. He didn't want a potato, and he knew if he didn't put potatoes on, Melinda ***wouldn't***."

Alexander Alexandrov KudoZ activity Questions: 991 (2 open) (6 without valid answers) (49 closed without grading) Answers: 276 Russian Federation
Local time: 10:17

Selected answer:wouldn’t do it

Explanation:
and he knew if he didn't put potatoes on, Melinda wouldn’t do it (i.e. put potatoes on).

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Note added at 54 mins (2020-07-25 23:44:01 GMT)
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You can split the sentence:
He didn't want a potato, and he knew if he didn't put potatoes on, Melinda wouldn't.
into two separate sentences:
He didn't want a potato.
He knew if he didn't put potatoes on, Melinda wouldn't.

This makes it clear that "wouldn't" refers back to "put".

Selected response from:

Brent Sørensen
Germany
Local time: 09:17

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +6

wouldn’t do it

Brent Sørensen

4 +2

wouldn't put potatoes on

Tony M

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

9 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

wouldn\'t

wouldn’t do it

Brent Sørensen
Germany
Local time: 09:17
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

wouldn't put potatoes on

Explanation:
It has to follow on from the immediately preceding idea, which is 'put the potatoes on' — "if he didn't... she wouldn't..."

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Note added at 6 hrs (2020-07-26 05:28:35 GMT)
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You may be thinking that it could mean "He didn't want a potato, and he knew if he didn't put potatoes on, Melinda wouldn't [want one either]" — although that's a plausible enough scenario (maybe she was too lazy to put potatoes on, so would pretend she didn't want any); but this doesn't really fit with the logical structure of the sentence. The only arguable point I can see is why the writer used 'and', instead of 'but' — but that is neither grammatically nor logically incorrect, just perhaps a tiny nuance of meaning buried within the style.

Tony M
France
Local time: 09:17
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 260

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wouldn't

English translation: wouldn’t do it

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