American English (was Re: [lbo-talk] five pundits in the dock)

[Carl Remick]

>From: ravi <listmail at kreise.org>
>
>At around 1/12/05 1:14 pm, Doug Henwood wrote:
> >
> > After Packer's talk, I politely asked him if he regretted his support
> > for the war. He did. "I wish I would have had more information at the
> > time," he told me.
>
>"Would have had" -- what's that called in grammar: past continuous?
>Shouldn't that be "I wish I had had more information" or simply "I wish
>I had more information at that time", or if you must "I wish I could
>have had more information"?

Actually, I think Packer should have said:  "Would that I had not been had!" 

  BTW, in America there is only only one acceptable verbal form:  past 
perfect, future even more perfect.


>If I am right about this, why do Americans, in particular make such
>mistakes?

It's part of our bundled national software, including:  bad education, bad 
grammar, bad foreign policy, bad economic system, bad popular culture and 
bad vibes in general.

Carl