Sir, – Further to Frank McNally’s Irishman’s Diary (March 8th), the conditional perfect tense is indeed often used in Ireland as a mock genteelism to avoid coming across too aggressively. I remember one particular boss who wasn’t afraid to be direct in telling me what he wanted. “I want you to complete this task.” But when, on occasion, he said “I would ask you to complete this task”, then I knew he was in bad form and I had better get it right.
That particular boss is long gone. He would have been my boss many years ago when I would have been very junior. – Yours, etc,
PAVEL MARIANSKI,
Dungarvan,
Matt Williams: Take a deep breath and see how Sam Prendergast copes with big Fiji test
New Irish citizens: ‘I hear the racist and xenophobic slurs on the streets. Everything is blamed on immigrants’
Jack Reynor: ‘We were in two minds between eloping or going the whole hog but we got married in Wicklow with about 220 people’
‘I could have gone to California. At this rate, I probably would have raised about half a billion dollars’
Co Waterford.
Sir, – I recall a story that a solicitor told me. A man entered the witness box in the district court. The interrogating lawyer asked “Are you Michael Murphy?” “I would be”, he replied. “But are you Michael Murphy?” “I would be, I would be”, came the reply. “Are you the Michael Murphy who works in O’Sullivan and Co?” “I would be”, again came the reply. “But we need to be sure that you are Michael Murphy so can you please confirm your name?” “I could indeed.” “I think, judge, for the sake of the court record, that we can take it that this witness is Michael Murphy.” – Yours, etc,
FINBAR KEARNS,
Piercestown,
Co Wexford.