My friend invites me to a party that starts at 730PM I say: I would totally be the

My friend invites me to a party that starts at 730PM

I say: I would totally be there if I hadn't already made plans for dinner.

OR

I would totally be there if I didn't already made plans for dinner.


Are both sentences okay?

No- the second doesn't work for me.

What's wrong with it?

'if I didn't already made plans' is ungrammatical.

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant:

I would totally be there if I didn't already make plans for dinner.

I am not a teacher.

I'm pretty sure this sort of thing is said in AmE (even if it's wrong) but it is definitely not right in BrE. We would always say, '…if I hadn't already made plans for dinner.'

Yes, there is definitely an AmE vs BrE difference here. I am ready to be corrected but our American friends would, I think, accept "if I didn't already make/have plans" whereas in BrE, we would always say "if I hadn't already made plans".

Roman55 said:

I am not a teacher.

I'm pretty sure this sort of thing is said in AmE (even if it's wrong) but it is definitely not right in BrE. We would always say, '…if I hadn't already made plans for dinner.'

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No, it's the same in American English. Hadn't is right, didn't is wrong.

Americans often say it that way, but it's non-standard. We're not always grammatical - something we have in common with y'all!

Batman, please note that this use of 'totally' started out as teenage slang. It's probably already passé.

Rover_KE said:

Batman, please note that this use of 'totally' started out as teenage slang. It's probably already passé.

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It's not passé in the U.S., but it is hackneyed, trite, over-used, and a powerful indicator of absence of original thought. But don't get me started....

"Totally" in that use should be retired ASAP.

Roman55 said:

I'm pretty sure this sort of thing is said in AmE (even if it's wrong) but it is definitely not right in BrE. We would always say, '…if I hadn't already made plans for dinner.'

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I prefer hadn't, but must admit that didn't is heard at least as commonly in AE. What people usually say cannot be described as wrong.

Batman45 said:

My friend invites me to a party that starts at 730PM

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I think 'invites' should be replaced with either 'has invited' or 'invited'.
Am I right or wrong? Not a teacher.

Matthew Wai said:

I think 'invites' should be replaced with either 'has invited' or 'invited'.
Am I right or wrong? Not a teacher.

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You are wrong because the OP is proposing a hypothesis, also described as posing a hypothetical question.

probus said:

a hypothetical question.

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Your statement about 'a hypothetical question' below was not understandable to at least three members. Could you please explain?
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/223210-make-vs-order?p=1153697&viewfull=1#post1153697

Not a teacher.

What is it about the present tense that says "hypothetical" to you? The sentence would be grammatical in the past tense.

"My friend invites me to a party" is a hypothesis. Also a question, given the context in which it was posted. There is no question that is was what the Op was asking.

That is provided that the OPs understand the tenses, which they often don't. You are being definite about something that is not definite.

probus said:

"My friend invites me to a party" is a hypothesis.

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Do you mean only the present tense should be used in a hypothesis?

No. The past tense would work just as well.

In this case 'My friend invites me to a party' is the shortest way of saying 'Suppose my friend invites me to a party', or 'Let's imagine my friend invites me to a party', or 'If we consider the hypothetical situation in which my friend invites me to a party'.