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Luyện ngữ pháp - English Grammar in Use - Intermediate (Unit 41: Wish))


Wish

A You can say 'I wish you luck / all the best / a happy birthday' etc.:
  • I wish you all the best in the future.
  • I saw Mark before the exam and he wished me luck.

We say 'wish somebody something' (luck / a happy birthday etc.). But you cannot say 'I wish that something happens'. We use hope in this situation. For example:
  • I'm sorry you're not well. I hope you feel better soon. (not I wish you feel)

Compare I wish and I hope:
  • I wish you a pleasant stay here.
  • I hope you have a pleasant stay here. (not I wish you have)
B We also use wish to say that we regret something, that something is not as we would like it. When we use wish in this way, we use the past (knew/lived etc.), but the meaning is present:
  • I wish I knew what to do about the problem. (I don't know and I regret this)
  • I wish you didn't have to go so soon. (you have to go)
  • Do you wish you lived near the sea? (you don't live near the sea)
  • Jack's going on a trip to Mexico soon. I wish I was going too. (I'm not going)

To say that we regret something in the past, we use wish + had ... (had known / had said) etc.:
  • I wish I'd known about the party. I would have gone if I'd known. (I didn't know)
  • It was a stupid thing to say. I wish I hadn't said it. (I said it)

For more examples, see Units 39 and 40.
C I wish I could (do something) = I regret that I cannot do it:
  • I'm sorry I have to go. I wish I could stay longer. (but I can't)
  • I've met that man before. I wish I could remember his name. (but I can't)

I wish I could have (done something) = I regret that I could not do it:
  • I hear the party was great. I wish I could have gone. (but I couldn't go)
D

You can say 'I wish (somebody) would (do something)'. For example:

It's been raining all day. Tanya doesn't like it. She says:
I wish it would stop raining.

Tanya would like the rain to stop, but this will probably not happen.

We use I wish ... would when we would like something to happen or change. Usually, the speaker doesn't expect this to happen.


We often use I wish ... would to complain about a situation:
  • The phone has been ringing for five minutes. I wish somebody would answer it.
  • I wish you'd do (= you would do) something instead of just sitting and doing nothing.

You can use I wish ... wouldn't ... to complain about things that people do repeatedly:
  • I wish you wouldn't keep interrupting me. (= please don't interrupt me)

We use I wish ... would ... to say that we want something to happen. But we do not use I wish ... would ... to say how we would like things to be. Compare:
  • I wish Sarah would come. (= I want her to come)
    but  I wish Sarah was (or were) here now. (not I wish Sarah would be)
  • I wish somebody would buy me a car.
    but  I wish I had a car. (not I wish I would have)
Exercises - 41.1


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