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-The train could leave Boston.

-The train would leave Boston.

Is there a difference? Are they interchangeable?

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2 Answers 2

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I think yes! The difference in meaning lies in the modal verbs used, 'could' and 'would'. Yet I feel that we need more context to better understand the actual meaning of the two sentences.

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"Could" is generally about capability "Would" is generally about possibility.

The difference in those two sentences would be:

"The train could leave Boston": the train is capable of leaving Boston, but whether it will or not is uncertain. The sentence simply says that it can, nothing more.

"The train would leave Boston": the train can and will leave Boston, it's simply a matter of when.

As you can see, their meanings are slightly different, and are not interchangeable

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