"I wish i would have done that..." -- bad english?

IndianinUSA   Thu Jan 28, 2010 4:37 am GMT
In the USA I hear this --- I wish I would have.... isn't that bad english? Isn't it rather, I wish I HAD?
Drew   Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:30 am GMT
Grammatically it seems a little odd, and it's probably not right. But as a general rule, if native speakers use it, it's fine. Language is about being understood, not following rules.
Invité d'honneur   Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:48 am GMT
Drew: «Language is about being understood, not following rules.»

If that were true, then it wouldn't be only the native speakers who could decide what is acceptable and unacceptable rule-breaking wise.
Fighter   Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:36 am GMT
Let's see who the winner is:

Battlefield: Google

Result:
... about 126,000,000 for "I wish I would have"
... about 211,000,000 for "I wish I had"

And the winner is "I wish I had"!
Opponent   Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:42 am GMT
<<Let's see who the winner is:

Battlefield: Google

Result:
... about 126,000,000 for "I wish I would have"
... about 211,000,000 for "I wish I had"

And the winner is "I wish I had"! >>



Consider the sentence:

"the dog fell off the couch and broke its neck in six places but didn't die because it was treated without delay by a skilled veterinarian who happened to be present in the neighborhood"

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Battlefield: Google

Result:
... 0 results for "the dog fell off the couch and broke its neck in six places but didn't die because it was treated without delay by a skilled veterinarian who happened to be present in the neighborhood"

Thus, this sentence is not correct!
Drew   Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:10 am GMT
"If that were true, then it wouldn't be only the native speakers who could decide what is acceptable and unacceptable rule-breaking wise."

Yes, and that's exactly what happens. Nobody sits down and decides, though. Languages evolve organically. If there's a problem, people literally speak around it, choosing different words/phrases to avoid ambiguity. If the grammatical error in question caused any confusion during use, people simply would not use it. Now this isn't some privilege of being a native speaker, but in a monolingual environment, the language in question is thoroughly vetted for ambiguity, as its users have no other options to fall back on should an issue arise. Native speakers, then, are the ones who often do the changing, simply because they have to.

Oh, and Opponent, your sentence actually isn't correct. No punctuation anywhere.

:P
Opponent   Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:18 am GMT
<<Oh, and Opponent, your sentence actually isn't correct. No punctuation anywhere>>



Punctuation was not required in that sentence. But since I can't find it on Google with or without punctuation, it doesn't matter. All forms must be incorrect.
Damian in Edinburgh   Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:03 am GMT
What's often deemed linguistically "acceptable" in American English (Canada included here, maybe - I'm not too sure) is not the case in British English.

Here we are more likely to say "I wish I'd (I had) done that" or perhaps, in subjunctive mood - "I wish I could have done that".

The use of "would" in this context does sound a wee bit odd....they wouldn't even say it that way in Glasgow, and that is even more odd in itself.
tnenoppo   Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:15 am GMT
Opponent:

Battlefield: Google
Result:
... 0 results for "the dog fell off the couch and broke its neck in six places but didn't die because it was treated without delay by a skilled veterinarian who happened to be present in the neighborhood"

Thus, this sentence is not correct!

****************************************************

I'm speechless! You don't know how to make good use of Google, do you!
Pelmog   Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:44 am GMT
<<Let's see who the winner is:

Battlefield: Google

Result:
... about 126,000,000 for "I wish I would have"
... about 211,000,000 for "I wish I had"

And the winner is "I wish I had"! >>



Um, hello???? That shows that "I wish I would have" is definitely acceptable. The standard version is only twice as common as it! So one in three people use "I wish I would have". Surely one third of cases is enough to make it correct?
Another Guest   Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:32 pm GMT
No, one third is not enough to make it correct. Two thirds isn't enough to make it correct. "Would have done" is incorrect. Period. It grates on my nerves every time I hear it.
Dog   Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:18 pm GMT
If it had not been raining, I would have done the job.

In this context it seems correct, no? However, I wish I would have....nope.
©   Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:56 pm GMT
< "I wish I could have done that". >

This is not the "subjunctive mood", Damian. It is "I wish" followed by a modal perfect.

The subjunctive mood would be "Would it were possible to do that", "If it were possible to do that", etc.
Uriel   Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:00 am GMT
"I wish I would have done that" sounds a little like an overblown way of saying "I wish I had done that", but it doesn't sound wrong, per se. A little idiosyncratic, maybe, but look at all the dialectical variation across the English-speaking world, and it seems pretty minor.
skvay   Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:06 am GMT
bad and incorrect english?

i smell troll