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

[B45]

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?

 

[Tdol]

No- the second doesn't work for me.

 

[B45]

What's wrong with it?

 

[Rover_KE]

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

 

[B45]

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant:

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

 

[Roman55]

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.'

 

[emsr2d2]

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".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

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.'

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!

 

[Rover_KE]

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

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

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

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....

 

[MikeNewYork]

"Totally" in that use should be retired ASAP.

 

[probus]

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.'

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.

 

[Matthew Wai]

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

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

 

[probus]

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

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

 

[Matthew Wai]

a hypothetical question.

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.

 

[MikeNewYork]

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

 

[probus]

"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.

 

[MikeNewYork]

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

 

[Matthew Wai]

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

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

 

[Rover_KE]

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'.