The auxiliary verb (haben or sein) must be the second idea. These do not have an auxiliary and an infinitive. They are simply ich hätte - I would have - and ich wäre - I would be. They still must be ...

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 ...