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This second part would hopefully come in handy tonight.
This second part will hopefully come in handy tonight.

Which one is correct and why?

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1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Will.

The subjunctive mood (would) is probably not appropriate in this sentence, since you reasonably expect the second part to come in handy.

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It's conditional, rather than subjunctive. It would also be appropriate if the whole thing were in the past "Yesterday I reckoned that this second part would come in handy". – Colin Fine Nov 16 '10 at 15:35
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You'd use would in a sentence such as "This second part would hopefully come in handy if [something else happened first]". – Marthaª Nov 16 '10 at 15:38

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