[Grammar] Can auxiliary verb 'would' be used in present tense?

[eggcracker]

I saw below sentence containing both 'would' and 'at present'. Doesn't 'would' indicate 'past tense' and 'at present' indicate 'present tense' except the expression like "I would like to~"? I can not understand why both two are in the following sentence.:-?
"Paying a fine would be difficult at present."

 

[emsr2d2]

"Would" does not necessarily indicate the past. "Would have" does.

I would like a cup of tea. I would like it right now. I would like another one in half an hour.
What would you do if Brad Pitt turned up at your front door later tonight? I would probably faint.

We quite frequently use "would be" when we mean "is". It's a sort of shy way of saying it.

Paying a fine would be difficult at present = I'm rather embarrassed to say I am short of money.
That would be me = It's me (Imagine the question was something like "Who is going to the Cliff Richard concert tonight?"

 

[Tdol]

Tense and time are not synonymous in English- we can use past tense forms to refer to the present and the future sometimes.

 

[BobK]

:up: And vice versa. Future tense for past time is rare, but possible (especially in a context that uses the historic present): '1913. Sarajevo. The Emperor Franz Josef rises early as usual, but it is the last time he will do this.' *(This is not a usage I recommend, but I've certainly seen it used.

b

PS *History was never my strong point [there's a past tense referring to a present state], so this example may be ridiculous in any number of ways.

 

[Raymott]

"Would" does not necessarily indicate the past. "Would have" does.

I would have to qualify that. "Would have + past part." indicates the past.

 

[emsr2d2]

I would have to qualify that. "Would have + past part." indicates the past.

Apologies, yes, of course "would have" alone says nothing.

I would have gone to the beach if it had been sunny.
He would have been able to buy a car if he had had more money.