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WISH - Coggle Diagram
WISH
Wishes about the present or future
Use
We can use 'wish' to talk about something that we would like to be different in the present or
the future.
. It's used for things which are impossible or very unlikely
We use 'could' with 'wish' to talk about ability and to talk about
possibility
I wish that I could speak Spanish
(but, unfortunately, I can't speak Spanish).
We don't usually use 'wish' in this way for things that are really possible in the future. Instead,
we use 'hope'.
I hope that you pass your exam
(NOT: I wish that you passed the exam)
Rules
Wish + (that) + past simple
The simple past here is an unreal past.
I wish that you lived close by
(you don't live close by)
In formal writing, you will see 'were' instead of 'was' after wish
This is correct, but it's also
fine to use 'was', in the same way as with the second conditional.
When you use the verb to be the form is “were”
I wish I were a millionaire!
Examples
Wish + past simple is used to express that we want a situation in the present (or future) to be different.
I wish it were the weekend
. (It’s only Wednesday)
I wish I had a big car.
(I don’t have a big car)
I wish I spoke Italian.
(I don’t speak Italian)
Wishes about the past
Use
We can use 'wish' with the past perfect to talk about regrets from the past
These are things
that have already happened but we wish they'd happened in a different way
This use of 'wish'
is very similar to the third conditional.
Rules
Wish + (that) + past perfect
I wish that I had studied harder at school.
(I didn't study hard at school, and now I'm
sorry about it.)
If only / I wish + past perfect
If only I had woken up early
. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.)
Examples
Wish + past perfect is used to express a regret, or that we want a situation in the past to be different.
I wish I had studied harder at school.
(I was lazy at school)
I wish they’d come on holiday with us.
(They didn’t come on holiday)
I wish I hadn’t eaten so much.
(I ate a lot)