Modal Verbs – Meaning of ‘How Would You Like Your Coffee?’

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How would you like your coffee?

‘How do you like your coffee?’ can have a couple of meanings as said in here. When a modal verb would is used instead of do, can the sentence be meaning variously?

Best Answer

In this exact wording would invokes the future - the waiter is asking what you want in your coffee (milk,cream,sugar, etc).

It could also be used for emphasis after say you've been discussing the various merits of having coffee in various ways, and you'd put stress on the word.

How would you like you coffee?

But it still has the same meaning.