they'd
They had, shortened
They'd is a contraction of "they had" or "they would," with context usually making clear which is meant.
They'd already left when I arrived uses the past perfect (had), while They'd never agree to that expresses the conditional (would).
Common in speech and informal writing.
Conditional mood marker
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- supposeAccept as true tentatively
- imagineForm mental pictures
- scenarioPostulated event sequence
possibility · likelihood · expectation · intention · preference · willingness · prediction · assumption
Conditional mood marker
- auxiliaryGiving additional support
- verbAction-expressing word
- shorteningReducing length or duration
- apostropheMark showing ownership
elision · pronoun · subject · combined · condensed · abbreviated
Relaxed, not official
- casualRelaxed and informal
- spokenExpressed in words aloud
- conversationalRelating to informal dialogue
- everydayOccurring each day
relaxed · natural · dialogue · speech · chatty · vernacular · idiomatic · unstilted
Fully finished
- priorExisting before another
- alreadyPrior to now
- earlierAt a prior time
- previouslyBefore the present moment
finished · accomplished · experienced · undergone · narrative · recounting · backstory
would
Conditional mood marker
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- supposeAccept as true tentatively
- imagineForm mental pictures
scenario · possibility · likelihood · expectation · intention · preference · willingness · prediction · assumption · contingency
would
Conditional mood marker
- auxiliaryGiving additional support
- verbAction-expressing word
- shorteningReducing length or duration
apostrophe · elision · pronoun · subject · combined · condensed · abbreviated
informal
Relaxed, not official
- casualRelaxed and informal
- spokenExpressed in words aloud
- conversationalRelating to informal dialogue
everyday · relaxed · natural · dialogue · speech · chatty · vernacular · idiomatic · unstilted
completed
Fully finished
previously · finished · accomplished · experienced · undergone · narrative · recounting · backstory
- they sayVague source attribution
- as they sayCiting common expression
- so they sayIndicating unverified hearsay
- do as they do
- as they comeIn whatever form appears
- struck someone when they were downExploited another's weakness cruelly