When did ‘I should like’ disappear?

[TitusMoan]

This isn’t a moan, but I thought this board would be a good place to ask.

If you read books from the first half of the twentieth century, the characters will say, “I should like a cup of tea,” but the verb in that kind of sentence has long been replaced by, “I would like a cup of tea”.

When did the usage change? And what is the name of that particular tense?

These are interesting questions and I cannot answer them.

When I learned foreign languages I learned that the translations were, for instance, for the future tense :- I shall walk, you will walk, he will walk, we shall walk, you will walk, they will walk.
Now, I might say, "I shall go shopping tomorrow" or just as easily say, "I will go shopping tomorrow" because we don't seem to insist on the first persons singular and plural using the 'shall' any more. The slide of 'should' into 'would' seems like the same kind of change.

I should like to know that too.

My guess would be that 'I should' went from being the more formal variant of 'I would', to being rare in normal speech roughly between the end of the second world war and maybe the 1970s. It hasn't gone away and is still found in more formal British English writing. Practically dead in American English.

Such as The Guardian on 21 December 2022

The people I worked with were dedicated, caring, compassionate, and hilariously funny at times. They were also incredibly brave. I should like to see some of the critics of those currently striking take the place of the paramedic who, a head and shoulders smaller than me, walked alone into a potentially violent patient’s home, making me wait outside until she was sure it was safe.

"I should like/think so/be grateful etc" is still used in my world, in spoken English and in work correspondence, and it is still good English. In relation to writing basically most publishers are aiming to just sell so books are full of drama and hooks and it will only be the highbrow and publishers of literary fiction who care about depth and breadth and accuracy in relation to language used. Another reason usage of these words has dropped is because standards of education have dropped.

In relation to your question about tense, if you would like more information about correct usage of would/should and will/shall, "The Complete Plain Words" by Gowers is really good. You could also look in grammar books from the 60s which you can find on ebay. Or "The king's English".

Cambridge dictionary online has something on use of should/would, I think, if you search for it within their website, but the older written sources will be best in terms of rules of usage I think.

Thank you @tirade I have just ordered The Complete Plain Words as I love grammar and all aspects of language, but I am aware that some of my knowledge is lacking.

I apologise for any errors I made in this post.

“I should like a cup of tea,” but the verb in that kind of sentence has long been replaced by, “I would like a cup of tea”

I think you mean replaced with 'Can I get a cup of tea?" which I hate with a passion.

Thank you everyone!

My mum drilled ‘I should’ into me 30 years ago but I rarely see anyone else using it now.

I think it is an amazing book, and find it quite calming to read - DC think that I could bore for England on the subject of language though, ha!

I think that should and would can be used interchangeably in terms of correctness nowadays - they used to strictly follow the rules which applied to shall and will (in England - not in the US or Scotland) but those rules are now quite often ignored and basically it is now considered correct and okay to either follow the rules if you know them, or to use the words interchangeably, as far as I know.

But they do have different meanings sometimes. Should has various meanings depending on where and how it is used. I would like a horse does sound different from I should like a horse - the should makes it sound more of whimsical or a wish for the future, or a nice way of letting someone know what you would like. Should is also used instead of the subjunctive.

I think "please can I have a cup of tea" is fine though! As is "please could I..." I think "I should like a cup of tea please" might sound as though you are from a different era.

I've never used that and I consider myself reasonably good at grammar. To me it seems archaic.

I've read a book recently part of which is set in 1348. Characters say "I would have a banana" (for illustration purposes as I know bananas weren't in England then) when they mean "I want a banana". I'd use that as "I would have a banana, but they're all gone so I'll have a pear instead."