A FEW NOTES ON WISHES CLAIRE WALLIS

FACT WHENEVER SOMETHING IS “UNREAL” IN ENGLISH (BE THAT, IMAGINARY, HYPOTHETICAL, UNREAL), WE TAKE A GRAMMATICAL STEP BACK. THIS HAPPENS IN THE 2°, 3° AND MIXED CONDITIONAL WISHES REPORTED SPEECH

REMEMBER THE SECOND CONDITIONAL IF + PAST, WOULD + INFINITIVE THE THIRD CONDITIONAL IF + PAST PERFECT, WOULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE THE MIXED CONDITIONAL IS A COMBINATION OF THE 2° AND 3° IN ANY ORDER.

WISHES WISHES FOR THE PRESENT I WISH/IF ONLY + PAST WISH YOU WERE HERE (PINK FLOYD). I WISH I HAD MORE FREE TIME. I WISH I WERE LYING ON A BEACH. IF ONLY I WERE RICH. Remember what happens to the verb to be in the second conditional, the same applies here. We can use WAS/WERE for all persons but WERE sounds better.

WISHES WISHES FOR THE PAST I WISH/IF ONLY + PAST PERFECT I WISH I HAD STUDIED ITALIAN AT UNIVERSITY. I WISH I HADN’T SPENT ALL MY MONEY. IF ONLY I HAD STUDIED HARDER BEFORE MY EXAMS. If only is the same as I wish. The only difference is that it offers more emphasis.

WISHES WISHES FOR FUTURE/ABILITY I WISH + COULD I WISH I COULD SING (ABILITY). I WISH I COULD GO ON HOLIDAY NEXT WEEK (FUTURE). It could also be used to have a past meaning if constructed with have and the past participle. I WISH I COULD HAVE MET HIM BEFORE HE DIED.

WISHES WISHES FOR SOMETHING OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. OFTEN USED TO EXPRESS SOMETHING THAT ANNOYS YOU. I WISH (OTHER SUBJECT – NOT FIRST PERSON) + WOULD I WISH MY GOVERNMENT WOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT. I WISH MY BOYFRIEND WOULD PICK UP HIS SOCKS.

WISHES/HOPE A WISH IS UNREAL. THEREFORE, WE ALWAYS STEP BACK. HOPE IS REAL. SO WE STEP FORWARD. YOU HAVE TAKEN THE EXAM MANY TIMES AND HAVE NEVER PASSED. YOU SAY: I WISH I COULD PASS THE EXAM. YOU HAVE NEVER TAKEN THE EXAM. YOU SAY: I HOPE I CAN PASS/ I HOPE I PASS/ I HOPE I WILL PASS.