Conditionals and "I wish"

Question

Hi. Please, this is an exercise form a textbook for CAE. The underlined verb forms are correct according to the key.

Choose the correct verb forms in these conversations. Sometimes both are possible.

A:

A: I feel terrible.

B: Well, if you (1) will stay / stay out until three in the morning, what do you expect?

A: I don't think I'll go to school today.

B: But supposing they (2) phone / would phone to find out where you are? What shall I tell them?

A: Okay, I'll go - if it (3) will make / makes you happy. (similar meaning)

B:

A: Grandad, before you blow out the candles, you've got to make a wish.

B. Well, I wish I (4) had bought / would have bought a house with a smaller garden. It's a lot of hard work to look after it.

A: And what else are you going to wish for?

B: I wish I (5) have /had more energy to play with my grandchildren.

A: And anything else?

B: I suppose I wish I (6) was / would be a young man again.

A: And have you got any more wishes?

B: Yes, I wish you (7) stopped / would stop asking me questions and let me eat my birthday cake!

My thoughts are:

In (1). Aren't both forms possible? We often use "will" after "if" if we disapprove of something, which is probably this case, but is present simple wrong in this sentence?

In (6). Aren't both forms possible? We often use "would" after "I wish" if we we want something to change. Isn't this the case?

In (7). Aren't both forms possible? Yes, we often use "would" after "I wish" if we want to express criticism. But do we have to use "would"? Is using the past simple wrong with criticism after "I wish/If only"?

Thank you for your comments and opinions/explanations.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

radovanIn (1). Aren't both forms possible? We often use "will" after "if" if we disapprove of something, which is probably this case, but is present simple wrong in this sentence?
Well, if you (1) will stay / stay out until three in the morning, what do you expect?

My ear accepts both. The use of will pulls in a sense of (wrongly or stubbornly) insisting. Without will, this nuance is missing, but that doesn't make the sentence wrong.

if you will stay ~ if you insist on staying

radovanIn (6). Aren't both forms possible? We often use "would" after "I wish" if we we want something to change. Isn't this the case?
I suppose I wish I (6) was ~~/ would be~~ a young man again.

'would be' is highly unidiomatic here. It's as if he is saying to himself,

"I just can't seem to control my age.  I don't know what's wrong with me.  I have to talk some sense into myself and become young again."

You can wish that someone else 'would' do something, but you can't wish that YOU 'would' do something. That's splitting yourself into two people. One is dissatisfied with the other!

radovanIn (7). Aren't both forms possible? Yes, we often use "would" after "I wish" if we want to express criticism. But do we have to use "would"? Is using the past simple wrong with criticism after "I wish/If only"?
Yes, I wish you (7) ~~stopped~~ / would stop asking me questions and let me eat my birthday cake!

'stopped' implies a habit, but he's only talking about one stopping action. The time is limited to this particular birthday party. The use of a dynamic verb in the past after 'wish' is somewhat problematic. It almost has to imply multiple instances of the action in question. Personally, I try to avoid it — though I do hear it.

1. I wish Aunt Bee [came / would come] to see us more often.
2. I wish the teacher [asked / would ask] me that question.
3. I wish this strong box [had / would have] a lock.

1 has a sense of something habitual.
2 does not.
3 does not have a dynamic verb; it has a stative verb.
________________

Don't be alarmed if you get a headache from this. The grammar of 'wish' may be the most difficult and frustrating of just about any verb in English.

CJ

Conditionals and "I wish"

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions