Too many Bahamians have taken to the use of the conditional perfect, “would have” to refer, incorrectly, to action that was presumably taken. It has become a virus in our language. “Would have” is a ...

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 ...