Re: The phrase 'I'd like...'

From: "David Barrow" <davidab@...>

> But quisiera is more uncertain, more polite, so in most instances
> gustaría works better
I don't know if this is a local thing or I'm just impolite,
but I (and people in my surroundings) tend to use "querer"
in the present indicative when asking about preferences
(i. e. in the second person, not in the first).

> me gustaría saber = I 'd like to know
In my dialect this sounds as a barely disguised command.

> Si quisiera, terminaría esta noche  = If  I wanted, I'd finish tonight
I have a question for Spanish-speakers (L1 and otherwise)
about the subjunctive and the conditional: is it common to
substitute one for the other? In my dialect it's become
increasingly common to hear "si" + conditional instead of
"si" + subjunctive. It really grates on my ears, especially
when supposedly educated people profer such syntax. ;)


--Pablo Flores
  http://www.angelfire.com/ego/pdf/sp/index.html

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