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0 pointsda39a3ee2y ago0 comments

Yep, for example, it's standard for US speakers to say "I wish you would have done X instead" whereas Brits would say that should be "I wish you had done X instead". I believe that that construction is a past subjunctive (since it's counterfactual) and therefore that the Brits are essentially right here ("had" is a past subjunctive form but "would have" is not; it's a conditional).

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jgwil22y ago

This is not standard or correct in American English either, though interestingly, German uses the same form for both situations ("ich wünsche, du hättest es getan" vs "du hättest es getan, wenn..."), so if that construction is more common in American English it's possible that it's due in part to the influence of German speakers.

da39a3eeOP2y ago

That's interesting. While perhaps not "standard", I'd definitely say it is very common among educated US speakers. Not to blame Bruce Springsteen -- who for all I know might have been trying to depict via grammatical error a certain sort of person in his song -- but for me it always brings to mind the song Bobby Jean. But now I see that apparently that is "wished" not "wish" so it's extra confusing :)

  Me and you, we've known each other
  Yeah, ever since we were sixteen
  I wished I would have known
  I wished I could have called you
  Just to say "Goodbye, Bobby Jean"

whimsicalism2y ago

> Yep, for example, it's standard for US speakers to say "I wish you would have done X instead" whereas Brits would say that should be "I wish you had done X instead".

Maybe that is something some Americans might say, but it is certainly not the most natural way I would say it.

I would likely say "I wish you'd done X instead" or "I wish you'd X'd"

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