Thread: would have liked

This my question is about the sentence "She would have liked him to be quieter." Why do they use this strange "would have..." construction in it? Any other examples please?

Originally Posted by Rostova

This my question is about the sentence "She would have liked him to be quieter." Why do they use this strange "would have..." construction in it? Any other examples please?

"She would have liked him to be quieter" has the same meaning as "She wanted him to be quieter".

"would have liked" sounds more formal

This remindes me of a song by Elton John
http://www.oracleband.net/Lyrics/candle_in_the_wind.htm
http://www.jeffreycraig.com/multimedia/ ... 20Wind.mp3

This ("would have liked") is commonly used, as kwatts said, in lieu (= instead) of "wanted".

Generally, though, it's used where something desired is unrealisable, like "I would have liked to go for a walk, but I was ill". I don't know how to say the first bit in Russian, I'm afraid.

Is "in lieu of" widely used in England? Or is it mostly bookish?

Not very widely used, but most people would understand it, I'd say.

"would have liked"
Means liked in the past tense

"She would like him to to be quieter" = now (present tense)
"She would have liked him to be quieter." = then (past tense)

oh, i had to know it... sorry for bothering you with such a stupid question

No questions are stupid! (except for this one)

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

No questions are stupid! (except for this one)

Just stupid answers.

Originally Posted by Seventh-Monkey

This ("would have liked") is commonly used, as kwatts said, in lieu (= instead) of "wanted".

Generally, though, it's used where something desired is unrealisable, like "I would have liked to go for a walk, but I was ill". I don't know how to say the first bit in Russian, I'm afraid.

I think I would agree with you; there's (in my opinion at least) a certain nuance to it. "Wanted" would just be a sort of regret of necessity. "I wanted to do my homework yesterday, but I forgot the stupid book." "I would have liked..." would not be wrong here, but I think it's a bit less appropriate. I would use it more in the whimsical/dream sense. "I would have liked to play professional football, but my knee blew out." I don't know; maybe some people will take issue with this, but I think there's a certain "feel" to it. Like I said though, neither one is "wrong" or "right" and nobody's going to look at you funny for using one over the other...

Originally Posted by Seventh-Monkey

Not very widely used, but most people would understand it, I'd say.

I don't know if "most" would. I would say a large percentage, perhaps, but not a majority...Of course, that's the US and not UK...

Yeah, well, the land of silly spellings .

It is not only used with "wanted". Just about any verb, I think.
I would have read the book yesterday, had I known it was due today / , but I decided to go to the zoo instead.

I would have preferred a clearer answer.

I think it may have something to do with a contrary-to-fact event/situation: I would have VERBed, but I didn't. (This does not fit the "prefer" sentence above.)

Originally Posted by chaika

It is not only used with "wanted". Just about any verb, I think.
I would have read the book yesterday, had I known it was due today / , but I decided to go to the zoo instead.

I would have preferred a clearer answer.

I think it may have something to do with a contrary-to-fact event/situation: I would have VERBed, but I didn't. (This does not fit the "prefer" sentence above.)

I would have liked the book, but it was too long.
This is a contrary-to-fact situation. (edit: I hated the book)

I would have liked him to be quiet
In this case "would have liked" = "wanted". Just more formal/polite

Can I say:
1. I would have liked him to be quiet if he had been loud.
2. I would have wanted him to be quiet if he had been loud.

Originally Posted by capecoddah

"would have liked"
Means liked in the past tense

"She would like him to to be quieter" = now (present tense)
"She would have liked him to be quieter." = then (past tense)

That's true, almost.

"I would like" is a subjuctive construction.

"I would like" is the subjuntive/conditioanl of "I want"

It mostly expresses a more polite desire.
In English. "I want" can seem somewhat too direct or rude. I would like is nicer.

I want - Я хочу
I would like - Я хотел бы

"I would have liked" is indeed the past of "I would like". I think in Russian, in the past it also is "Я хотел бы".

Although English tends to be more polite, subjuntives tend to be more polite forms of "to want".

French, "Je voudrais" is conditional.
Spanish, may use "Me gustaria" instead of "Me gusta"(indicitive).

Would in "would like" is not the same as it's use in other contexts. Well it is, and it isn't.

Usually would is accompanied with but, or another clause explaining reason for not completing the action:

I would have gone to the cinema, but I had no money.
I would have played football, but I had a broken leg.

Or:

I wouldn't have gone, if my ex was going to be there.
I wouldn't have got wet if I had had an umbrella with me.

Or an "even if"
I wouldn't sleep with you, even if you were the last guy on the planet.

In the present:
I would go to the cinema, if I had money:
In Russian this will be rendered using the future tense.

In "I would like" the conditional mood makes it polite, since it is less direct. The English language is the language of the English people, and we do tend to be over polite (more so than our American cousins).

Of course you can also say things like:

"I would like to go, but I can't."

In "She would have liked him to be quieter", the meaning doens't really differ much from "She wanted him to be quieter." For me the main thing is, the former is much less definite, it is less of a strong desire, the fact that he was loud wasn't that important.

Saying "I want" in English expresses more of a stronger desire than Я хочу in Russian, IMO.

This also applies to any sort of desire, or request:

If you stop a person in the street in an English speaking place, and say "Tell me the time", it is very rude. Even if you say "Tell me the time, please" it still sounds too direct. We would say "Would you tell me the time please", "Could you tell me the time please?", "What is the time please?" In English we don't have a Ty or Vy distinction, so a straight imperative tends to carry a more informal tone. Thus we use round-about ways of asking for things.

This is sort of like using constructions like "Вы не знаете," as it is indirect.

English people, though, despite being externally polite, are all rude and surly.

If I'm walking down the street and something bumps into my shoulder. I'll say "sorry" to THEM, but I'll be thinking "You fucking idiot, watch where you are going", or say it under my breath after they pass.

Originally Posted by TATY

I wouldn't have got wet if I had had an umbrella with me.

I wouldn't have gotten wet if I had an umbrella with me.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by TATY

I wouldn't have got wet if I had had an umbrella with me.

I wouldn't have gotten wet if I had an umbrella with me.

Americanism alert!

Americans prefer: I have spelled it wrong
Brits prefer: I have spelt it wrong

Americans prefer: I have dreamed about him
Brits: I have dreamt about him.

Gotten sounds so American to me.

Had had, was not a typo BTW.

I played football yesterday.
I would have got dirty, if I had played football.

I had an umbrella with me.
I wouldn't have got wet if I had had an umbrella with me.

First Had = auxilliary verb, to form the past perfect. (Spanish Haber)
Second Had = the verb to have. (Spanish Tener)

E.g. the past tense of I have had sex = I had had sex.

I have had sex = Present perfect (have is the present)
I had had sex = Past perfect (had is past)
I will have had sex = Future perfect
I am having sex = Present continuous (am - present, havING - cont.)
I was having sex = Past continuous (was - past, havING - cont.)
I will be having sex = Future continuous



I wouldn't have gotten wet if I had an umbrella with me

Doesn't work because:

The second clause is actually a present construction:
If I had the time, I'd go to the cinema (present conditional)
If I had had the time, I'd have gone to the cinema (past conditional).

John: It's really starting to rain, we are gonna get soaked!
Simon: We wouldn't get wet if we had our umbrellas with us

Compare this to the PAST, in which all parts of the sentence must be put into the past:

Mary: John, Simon you are soaking wet!
Simon: We wouldn't have got wet if we had had our umbrellas with us.

We wouldn't have got we if he had our umbrellas with us, leaves the second part of the sentence in the presenty, furutery conditional thing, which clashes with the first past being the perfective past.

I have had sex = Present perfect (have is the present)
I had had sex = Past perfect (had is past)
I will have had sex = Future perfect
I am having sex = Present continuous (am - present, havING - cont.)
I was having sex = Past continuous (was - past, havING - cont.)
I will be having sex = Future continuous

Which of the sentances sounds best to you?

Originally Posted by basurero

I have had sex = Present perfect (have is the present)
I had had sex = Past perfect (had is past)
I will have had sex = Future perfect
I am having sex = Present continuous (am - present, havING - cont.)
I was having sex = Past continuous (was - past, havING - cont.)
I will be having sex = Future continuous

Which of the sentances sounds best to you?

It depends on the context of course, silly.

"I am having sex yesterday" doesn't work does it.

Each has its own use in the appropriate context, hence all these tenses existing.