Reply
Wed 27 Sep, 2017 09:55 am
Too often I hear or even read examples of the following incorrect usages of the word "would" but I'm at a loss to explain the grammatical points in play. I would appreciate a brief tutorial on the use of the word "would" as used in the following manner:
(1) "I wish I would have" [instead of "I wish I had"]
and
(2) "if he would have done it differently" [instead of "if he had done it differently"]
In each case the use of "would" in the sentence is superfluous and redundant, but what, grammaticaly, is wrong with using "would" instead of simply using the past perfect participle or (if I have it right) the future perfect participle?
I hear it and read it often but can't explain the actual grammatical deficiency.
Can someone help with this.
I googled "using would with a verb"
Here's what I found:
Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must, ought to, should, would, used to, need are used in conjunction with main verbs to express shades of time and mood. The combination of helping verbs with main verbs creates what are called verb phrases or verb strings.
I don't understand what you mean by "grammatical deficiency."