English Grammar

Resource centre English grammar teaching wishes

Wish...

Wishes about the present and future

1. We use wish + past simple to express that we want a situation in the present (or future) to be different.

I wish I spoke Italian. (I don't speak Italian)
I wish I had a big car. (I don't have a big car)
I wish I was on a beach. (I'm in the office)
Future: I wish it was the weekend tomorrow. (It's only Thursday tomorrow)

2. We use wish + past continuous to express that we want to be doing a different action in the present (or future).

I wish I was lying on a beach now. (I'm sitting in the office)
I wish it wasn't raining. (It is raining)
Future: I wish you weren't leaving tomorrow. (You are leaving tomorrow)

Wishes about the past

We use wish + past perfect to express a regret, or that we want a situation in the past to be different.

I wish I hadn't eaten so much. (I ate a lot)
I wish they'd come on holiday with us. (They didn't come on holiday with us)
I wish I had studied harder at school. (I was lazy at school)

Wish + would

We use wish + would + bare infinitive to express impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action.
I wish you would stop smoking.
(You are smoking at the moment and it is annoying me)
I wish it would stop raining.
(I'm impatient because it is raining and I want to go outside)
I wish she'd be quiet.
(I am annoyed because she is speaking)

Important points

1. To simply express that you want something to happen in the future (not talking about wanting an action or situation to be different, and not talking about impatience or annoyance) we use hope, not wish.

I hope it's sunny tomorrow.
I wish it was sunny tomorrow. x
I hope she passes her exam next week.
I wish she were passing her exam next week. x
I hope the plane doesn't crash tomorrow.
I wish the plane wouldn't crash tomorrow. x

2. We can use wish + infinitive or wish + object + infinitive to mean "want" in a formal situation.

I wish to leave now. (+ infinitive)
I wish to speak to your supervisor please. (+ infinitive)
I do not wish my name to appear on the list. (+ object + infinitive)

3. We can use (I) wish you in fixed expressions.

I wish you a happy birthday.
We wish you good luck in your new job.

See also Past simple | Past perfect | Past continuous

Teaching wish...

Pictures work best. Something simple like a picture of someone running in the rain or a child crying (easy to find in magazines). Question students along the lines of:

"What is she doing?" (Running in the rain)
"Does she want to be running in the rain?" (No)
"What does she want to be doing?" (Sitting at home with a cup of tea).
"So, does she wish she was sitting at home with a cup of tea?"

Plenty of build up like this, repetition with different examples and different pictures will give students the idea and the structure.

You can do the same for any of the "wish" structures. A picture of a person in prison:

"Why is he in prison?" (Because he stole a car)
"Does he regret stealing the car?" (if students are not comfortable with the verb regret: "Does he want to change the past?") (Yes)
"What does he regret?" (Stealing the car)
"So he wishes he hadn't stolen the car?"

Chris
An idea I stole from my ESL teacher trainer is to introduce "Wish" with music. The band, Pearl Jam, has a song called Wishlist and the song constantly repeats the form, "I wish..." I have the students perform activities with the lyrics (mazes, jumbles, etc...) to become familiar with the structure. Also, a great listening activity."
Stephen
I use a magic lamp, like we see in the movies, and I tell them that they should make three wishes for the genie. It doesn't matter if they make some mistakes. I then start talking about my wishes and explain all the cases of wish"
Renata
I choose funny daily situations so that I can get their attention. For instance:

What if you missed a nice party with a lot of delicious food that took place yesterday?

I wish I had attended the party. I would have eaten...

Then I remind them that it exactly the same as the third conditional. Note that I start with the past perfect as it is easier to understand than the "unreal past"
Mohammed
Well! The first thing I say to my students is "I wish I wasn't here now. I wish I was on vacation." And then ask what their wishes are and to share their wishes with the class. Starting this way boosts their confidence. And when they can express their wishes following my example, they are over the moon! I personally wanted to learn the model from my teacher first when I myself was a student years back. But actually, good examples at the beginning always trigger effective results."
AQM Khairul Basher

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