wouldn't
See also: wouldnt
English
Alternative forms
- wo'n't (archaic)
- wou'dn't (obsolete)
- wudn't (pronunciation spelling)
- wunt (Yorkshire, pronunciation spelling)
Etymology
Contraction of would not, equivalent to would + -n't.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈwʊdn̩t/
- (US) IPA(key): [wʊdⁿn̩t], [wʊɾənt], [ˈwʊʔn̩t]
- (Yorkshire) IPA(key): /ˈwʊnt/, [ˈwʊnʔ]
Audio (US): (file) Audio (UK): (file) - Rhymes: -ʊdn̩t, -ʊnt
Verb
wouldn't
- would not (negative auxiliary[1])
- Wouldn't you often have supper on the terrace on Sundays?
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VI, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.
Coordinate terms
See also
- Appendix:English modal verbs
- Appendix:English tag questions
References
- ^ Arnold M. Zwicky and Geoffrey K. Pullum, Cliticization vs. Inflection: English n’t, Language 59 (3), 1983, pp. 502-513