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what is the difference between this two sentences " would you like to be a farmer ?" and "Do you like to be a farmer?" I know would is about specific time but there is no time in the sentence

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  • Always make sure that the sentences are grammatically correct and properly punctuated before posting your questions.
    – Kris
    Aug 22, 2013 at 6:05
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    Have you seen ell.stackexchange.com ?
    – Kris
    Aug 22, 2013 at 6:06

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‘Would you like to be a farmer?’ asks a hypothetical question. The person being questioned is not a farmer, but the speaker wants to know if it is an occupation that appeals to the person addressed.

'Do you like to be a farmer?’ is ungrammatical. In such a question what is required is not the infinitive ‘to be’, but the ‘-ing’ form: ‘Do you like being a farmer?’ In that situation, the person addressed is already a farmer, and the speaker wants to know if the occupation is to the addressee’s liking.

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Would like is an idiom used to express desire.

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  • -1 That doesn't explain "the difference" as requested.
    – TrevorD
    Aug 21, 2013 at 23:09

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