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According to Garner's fourth edition,

'd have liked to should be followed by a present-tense infinitive, so 'd have liked to (٭have done) is wrong; nor is correct 'd like to have done because the sequence of events is then off.

What does the author mean exactly by the sequence of events is then off?

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    Is that a direct quote, word-for-word, from Garner? The phrase "nor is it correct 'd like to have done" doesn't sound like American (or British) English to me.
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Commented Jun 23, 2020 at 21:52

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As I understand the sentence quoted, I disagree with the author.

All the versions are valid and have different meanings.

Examples

  1. I would have liked to see Australia.

When I was younger, to see Australia is what I would have liked. Now that I'm older, it isn't what I would like because I don't like long plane journeys.

  1. I would like to have seen Australia.

I would like now to have seen Australia in the past.

  1. I would have liked to have seen Australia.

My memory is failing but I'm pretty sure that, when I was 30, I would at that time have liked to have seen Australia when I was 20.

In real life, people don't make these distinctions and you will hear all three versions. What people usually mean is, "I wish I'd visited Australia when I was younger"

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  • What about I'd have liked to have done it vs_ I'd like to have done it_?
    – GJC
    Commented Jun 23, 2020 at 22:43
  • @GJC - That's the same as cases 1 and 3 in my answer. "I'd" in this context is a contraction of "I would". In other contexts "I'd can be a contraction of "I had" That is another distinction the text-book doesn't seem to make. Don't worry too much about this. IRL speakers tend to use 1 or 2 and probably don't know that there is a difference.
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Commented Jun 23, 2020 at 23:20
  • @GJC - I suggest that you pick "I'd have liked to...". This what Garner suggests and it's a safe option even if his reasoning is suspect (in my opinion)
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Commented Jun 23, 2020 at 23:26

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