I was happy to buy the bag

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers、
Would all the sentences be used?
(a) I was happy to buy the bag.
(b) I was glad to buy the bag.
(c) I was happy that I could buy the bag.
(d) I was glad that I could buy the bag.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

 

[diligentcircle]

What are you referring to as "bags"? When I read that, it made me think of illicit drugs. Most products that come in bags are named explicitly in most contexts, and bags themselves (e.g. trash bags and sandwich bags) are sold in multipacks; you don't just buy one at a time.

In any case, yes, those are all fine grammatically. But "A" and "B" refer to your willingness to do it, and "C" and "D" refer to your happiness about the fact that you are able to do it.

 

[hirashin]

So you mean A and B have a little different meaning than C and D, right?

 

[diligentcircle]

Not just a little different, very different. This may stem from customer service, but "happy to" and "glad to" don't actually mean that you're happy or glad. They just mean that you are willing to do that thing. In some contexts, you might even secretly be annoyed; using this expression just shows that you're not going to make any such annoyance visible. C and D actually mean what they say, that you're happy/glad about it.

 

[hirashin]

Oh, is that so? Then in (a) and (b), the speaker might not have buy the bag actually, right?

 

[diligentcircle]

You have a typo there. I'm not sure if you meant "have to buy" or "have bought". In either case, though, yes. Being "happy to" do something doesn't mean you actually do it. It could be that you find that it is no longer necessary before you start doing it, and so you don't (typically because the person you're doing it for changed their mind, or because someone else stepped up to the task instead).

 

[hirashin]

Oh, I did it again! Thanks for the help, Julimaruchan.