0
Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Conditional Verbs

If you have a sentence like "I would have liked it if you..." does the second part of the sentence have to be conditional too? Like "I would have liked it if you had have come earlier" or can you just say "I would have liked it if you had come earlier"?

Bit of a picky question I know, but I'm just not sure which is correct.
  

Top answer

In British English, it can be only, "I would have liked it if you had come earlier'. Although the form had have/had've is not infrequently heard, it is still considered substandard. The contract form 'd've can be used for had have or would have .

— Fivejedjon

  • In British English, it can be only, "I would have liked it if you had come earlier'.
  • Although the form had have/had've is not infrequently heard, it is still considered substandard.
  • The contract form 'd've can be used for had have or would have .
  • The former is substandard in both BrE and AmE.
  • I think that the latter might be possible in AmE in the second clause in your sentence.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
In British English, it can be only, "I would have liked it if you had come earlier'.

Although the form had have/had've is not infrequently heard, it is still considered substandard.

The contract form 'd've can be used for had have or would have. The former is substandard in both BrE and AmE. I think that the latter might be possible in AmE in th
0

Related Questions