# EN: I would like / I should like



## suitenum

Hello!

I want to know the difference between "would like" and "should like"


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## ascoltate

I'm assuming you mean:
"I would like" and "I should like" ??

We often learn in school that the first person (I/we) uses "should/shall" while the second and third persons use "would/will" - but in practice, this is not the case. Because "should" usually has a meaning of obligation, we tend to avoid it for this conditional meaning.
In British English, "should like" is still used in this context, but in American English it is next to impossible and you should say "would like" (unless, of course, you want to say "je devrais aimer", rather than "j'aimerais").


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## Outsider

_I would like_ - je voudrais

_I should like_ peut vouloir dire "je devrais aimer". Cependant, il peut aussi être une variante ancienne et polie de _I would like_.


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## suitenum

thanks for your answer!


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## Suehil

Some people (me included) often still use 'I shall' and 'I should'.


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## geostan

ascoltate said:


> I'm assuming you mean:
> "I would like" and "I should like" ??
> 
> We often learn in school that the first person (I/we) uses "should/shall" while the second and third persons use "would/will" - but in practice, this is not the case. Because "should" usually has a meaning of obligation, we tend to avoid it for this conditional meaning.
> In British English, "should like" is still used in this context, but in American English it is next to impossible and you should say "would like" (unless, of course, you want to say "je devrais aimer", rather than "j'aimerais").



Perhaps it's my generation, but I still say _I should like... _But I'm just as likely to say _I would like_.

Cheers!


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## radagasty

Yes... I agree. I would say that _I should like_ is in most cases to be interpreted as _je voudrais _rather than as _je devrais aimer_ or _je dois aimer_.


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## Tower of Babel

Hello suitenum,

In the United States, "I should like ..." is almost never used. However, if you *do* use it, you will almost always be correctly understood.

For example, everyone will understand what you mean if you say, "I should like to see you tomorrow." An American will know that it means the same thing as "I would like to see you tomorrow." The use of "should" will merely sound quaint or British.


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## enJoanet

Hi!
Having lived in the UK for a while, I can confirm that "_I should like"_ is quite used, although it sounds fairly formal... Note that "I shall think about it" or "I shall be working" are still used by "educated people"...
hope it helps!
cheers!


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## enJoanet

Little precision: when I said the UK, I meant England! 
Plus, I'm not sure that theses forms are really used in Ireland or Scotland...


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## ocilya

Hello,

"Then I thought that I *should not like* her to learn about her sister's affair"

"Je me dis alors que *je n'aimerais pas qu'*elle apprenne la liaison de sa soeur" ?

Can it have a different meaning or is it only that? Thanks!


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## jann

Je me dis alors que *je n'aimerais pas qu'*elle apprenne...  

C'est bien le sens.


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## ocilya

Merci !


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## Jerail

In spoken English it's often rendered irrelevant with the contractions "I'd" (I would/should) or "I'll" (I will/shall). It is "uncontracted", so to speak, when speaking formally and/or to give more emphasis. "Should" gives more emphasis than "would", and is less common, especially in American English.


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