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Unit 41. Wish.




Unit 41; Part A

galka.jpgYou can say 'I wish you luck / every success / a happy birthday' etc. :

    I wish you every success in the future.
    I saw Tim before the exam and he wished me luck.


We say 'wish somebody something'
(luck / a happy birthday etc.). But you cannot 'wish that something happens'. We use hope in this situation. For example:
     I hope you get this letter before you go away.  (not I wish you get)

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)

Unit 41; Part B

galka.jpgWe 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 Unit 39 and Unit 40.

Unit 41; Part C

galka.jpgI 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)

Unit 41; Part D

galka.jpgYou can say 'I wish (somebody) would (do something)'. For example:
40.1.jpgIt's been raining all day. Jill doesn't like it.
She says: I wish it would stop raining.


Jill 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 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.

We use I wish ... would ... for actions and changes, not situations. 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

flag.jpgPut in wish(ed) or hope(d).
Key.2    hope
3    wish
4    wished
5    hope
6    wish ... hope


1    I    wish    you a pleasant stay here.
2    Enjoy your holiday. I _________ you have a great time.
3    Goodbye. I _________ you all the best.
4    We said goodbye to each other and _________ each other luck.
5    We're going to have a picnic tomorrow, so I _________ the weather is nice.
6    I _________ you luck in your new job. I _________ it works out well for you.
flag.jpgWhat do you say in these situations? Write sentences with I wish ... would ... .
Key.2 I wish Jane/she would come. or    ... would hurry up.
3 I wish somebody would give me a job.
4 I wish the/that baby would stop crying.
5 I wish you would buy some new clothes.  or  I wish you would get some new clothes.
6 I wish you wouldn't drive so fast.
7 I wish you wouldn't leave the door open (all the time).
8 I wish people wouldn't drop litter in the street.


1    It's raining. You want to go out, but not in the rain.
      You say:     I wish it would stop raining.   
2    You're waiting for Jane. She's late and you're getting impatient.
      You say to yourself:  I wish ____________________________
3    You're looking for a job - so far without success. Nobody will give you a job.
      You say:  I wish somebody ____________________________
4    You can hear a baby crying. It's been crying for a long time and you're trying to study.
      You say: ____________________________
5    Brian has been wearing the same clothes for years. You think he needs some new clothes.
      You say to Brian: ____________________________

For the following situations, write sentences with I wish ... wouldn't ... .

6    Your friend drives very fast. You don't like'this.
      You say to your friend:  I wish you ____________________________
7    Joe leaves the door open all the time. This annoys you.
      You saу to Joe: ____________________________
8    A lot of people drop litter in the street. You don't like this.
      You say:  I wish people ____________________________
flag.jpgAre these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.
Key.2    OK
3    I wish I had more free time.
4    I wish our flat was/were a bit bigger.
5    OK
6    OK
7    I wish everything wasn't/weren't so expensive.
1    I wish Sarah would be here now.
2    I wish you would listen to me.       
3    I wish I would have more free time.       
4    I wish our flat would be a bit bigger.       
5    I wish the weather would change.       
6    I wish you wouldn't complain all the time.   
7    I wish everything wouldn't be so expensive.   
I wish Sarah were here now.  
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
flag.jpgPut the verb into the correct form.
Key.3    I knew
4    I'd taken / I had taken
5    I could come
6    I wasn't /I weren't
7    they'd hurry / they would hurry
8    we didn't have
9    we could have stayed
10  it wasn't / weren't
11  he'd decide / he would decide
12  we hadn't gone


1    It was a stupid thing to say. I wish I    hadn't said   it.  (I / not / say)
2    I'm fed up with this rain. I wish ____________ stop.      (jt / stop)
3    It's a difficult question. I wish ____________ the answer.  (I / know)
4    I should have listened to you. I wish ____________ your advice.  (I / take)
5    You're lucky to be going away. I wish ____________ with you.  (I / can / come)
6    I have no energy at the moment. I wish ____________ so tired. (I / not / be)
7    Aren't they ready yet? I wish ____________ up.  (they / hurry)
8    It would be nice to stay here longer. I wish ____________ to leave now. (we / not / have)
9   When we were in London last year, we didn't have time to see all thethings we wanted to see. I wish ____________ longer.  (we / can / stay)
10    It's freezing today. I wish ____________ so cold. I hate cold weather.  (it / not / be)
11    Joe still doesn't know what he wants to do. I wish ____________. (he / decide)
12    I really didn't enjoy the party. I wish ____________.  (we / not / go)


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