“If I would have…”
When talking about something that didn’t happen in the past, many English speakers use the conditional perfect (if I would have done) when they should be using the past perfect (if I had done):
Lesson on “If I would have…” vs “If I had…”
2 comments
Permalink1
Speaking as an old teacher
of English in the high school, I am irritated, for no crucial reason, when reading or hearing
the phrase: “if I would have…” Sounds perfectly ungrammatical to me…and essentially
ignorant. I know the language must change over time, but let it change with some degree of
logic or perception, not because of ignorance!
Permalink2
This is also a fairly common in
French..”Si je l’aurais su.. je serais allée..” I cringe!