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A student is responsible for collecting sheets handed out in class for those students who are absent. This is what is often said to me as I'm handing out the sheets. I've always corrected them by stating that "need" is a state verb and in this instance should be in the simple present. It's an immediate need.

My colleague (a native-speaker), however, just argued that you could very well say "would need" in this context.

Is "would need" acceptable in this context and is the reason because it's conditional?

I would need 3 more sheets (because 3 students are missing and I have to put 3 in the missing-student's binder for them.)

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  • @KillingTime. Maybe it's just an AE vs BE thing, but I think it's acceptable to write just "native-speaker" instead of "a native-speaker" in parentheses. :-)
    – Savannah
    Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 8:33
  • ... Unmarked << native speaker >> (check the usual spelling) is acceptable; putting it in scare quotes hints to me that this native speaker may have failed GCSE English or equivalent. // 'I'd be needing .../I would be needing ...' in this usage (= 'I need' semantically) sound like examples of Irish English, or pirate-speak, to my ear. // But "I need ..." can (as well as in the statement of fact sense) be used with the force of a request or even a demand if doing an Oliver (asking for more). "I'll need ..." etc is an appropriate hedged-for-politeness form that is available.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 13:43
  • You should write numbers in English.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 15:47
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    I would like three more sheets is an idiomatic usage of would to more politely express I want three more sheets. You could, in theory, say I would need three more sheets, but that would be unusual, and it would move from politeness to the hypothetical: I would need 3 more sheets (if I am to finish the assignment).
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 16:56
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    I agree with what @Tinfoil hat said. It's a polite way of saying it, more polite than simply saying, "I need."
    – Benjamin Harman
    Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 20:17

2 Answers 2

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I'd say, here in Canada, it's generally normal to say "I would need" in an informal context, either to communicate doubt (there is a possibility that he/she might not need it in the end) or to convey that the student is not entitled to receive it, or even just to be polite. However, I wouldn't use "would need" in the context of the dialogue in formal writing.

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  • In the situation I have presented, there is no possibility that the student won't need the sheets. It's a weekly duty that one student collects the homework sheets for those who are absent and puts them in a binder. It's a necessity in our situation. The student has to simply request the number of sheets necessary. My standpoint is that "would need" is superfluous and irrelevant for this need.
    – Savannah
    Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 8:59
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    It's certainly possible to use "would" for politeness, so as to not be demanding something. Saying "I need such-and-such" could sound rather rude. It's perhaps superfluous but the essence of politeness is that it's not necessary to say please and thank you, but is done to be polite.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 10:51
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    "Would need" might be superfluous in your opinion or generally, but might still be acceptable or up to the student's discretion.
    – GrammarErrorCom
    Commented Apr 27, 2023 at 17:39
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I assume the context is:

Student: "Can I have the sheets?"

You: "Yes. Here they are."

Student: "How many are there?"

You: "Twenty."

Student: "I will need three more." / *"I would need three more."

I think your student is becoming confused with the German "möchte" = would like.

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