he'd
- 1Contraction of he would.
He'd never admit it, but the surprise party meant the world to him.
She figured he'd rather stay home than sit through another long meeting.
Note
Here the contraction carries the hypotheticals, habits and preferences of would: he'd never admit it, he'd rather stay home. A bare verb after it marks this reading, the same test that separates it from the past-perfect contraction. Rather is a useful signal as well, because he'd rather is read as he would rather.
- 2Contraction of he had.
She realized he'd left his keys on the kitchen counter again.
By noon he'd written three chapters and was ready for a break.
Note
The past-perfect auxiliary folded onto its subject: he'd left, he'd written. The same spelling also stands for the "would" contraction, and the verb that follows settles which. A past participle (he'd gone, he'd seen) means had; a bare verb (he'd go, he'd see) means would. When the two forms look alike, as in he'd come or he'd run, only the surrounding sentence can decide.
Practice
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