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

[ravi]

At around 2/12/05 8:54 am, Carrol Cox wrote:
> "W. Kiernan" wrote:
>> ravi wrote:
>>  > 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?
>>
>> I think it's something like a past imperfect.  Between "had had," "could
>> have had," and "would have had" I hear distinct shades of meaning aroud
>> the difference between "can" and "will."  "Had had" is impersonal.
>> "Could have had" implies that having that information was impossible,
>> i.e., not having it was nobody's fault.  "Would have had" seems to put
>> an agent who willfully held back information from Packer.
> 
> I'm not sure of this interesting set of distinctions, but granting them,
> clearly "would have had" is the correct wording ...
>

I don't know... "I wish I would have had" sounds just wrong to my
ears... but you are the English professor...

	--ravi

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