could - the use of modals

Question

I wonder if there are any meaningful differences between the next two sentences.I wish I bought a new car.I wish I could buy a new car.Please help. and thanks in advance ^^

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Yes, there is a big difference - the difference between past and future.

If you say I wish I bought a new car, you are suggesting that you haven't bought the car even though you had an opportunity to do so (in the past). (This is also said I wish I had bought a new car with the same meaning.)

If you say I wish I could buy a new car, you are suggesting that you want to buy a car (in the future), but you are unable to do it. Maybe you don't have enough money to do it.

I think you may be confused because stative verbs like have don't work the same way with wish as the dynamic verbs (like buy) do.

I wish I had a car means I wish to have a car now, I regret not having a car now. In this case the past tense had indicates present time. The same effect of past tense serving as present doesn't work for verbs that indicate an event that occurs at a point in time.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for your answer.

I have another question. In the next sentence, speak is an action verb and in the second sentence, keep is a static verb.

But the answers are spoke, would keep respectively. Can you explain these?

I speak terrible English. I wish I (spoke, would speak) English well.

I can't sleep. The dog next door is making too much noise. I wish it ( kept, would keep, could keep) quiet.

Grammar is sooooo confusing.

CalifJim · Answer

I should have said static and dynamic usage or idea or concept, not verb. To speak English well is a stative idea, a habitual practice.

I wish it would keep quiet is what you want for the second one. Here the idea is dynamic. I wish it would perform the action of becoming quiet. I wish it would come to be quiet. I wish it would change its behavior immediately so as to be quiet.

Use the search feature above. Enter wish would. That may lead you to some answers for your questions.

English grammar is not really so confusing in its entirety! It's just that there are a few murky corners where the grammar of a particular word may be somewhat complex. One of the most difficult corners is the grammar of wish.

CJ

Marius Hancu · Answer

Re:

>I can't sleep. The dog next door is making too much noise. I wish it would keep quiet.

See the note on irritation in Swan, I think this may be why would keep was seen by the test writers as preferable here.

------
wish ... would

Would is very common in that-clauses after wish. Would is used as a softened equivalent of will, referring to people's willingness, insistence or refusal to do things.

Everybody wishes you would go home. (= Why won't you go home?)

Wish ... would usually expresses regret, dissatisfaction, impatience or irritation because somebody will keep doing something or won't do something.

I wish she would be quiet.

would not used

When we are not talking about willingness, unwillingness, insistence or refusal, wish ... would is not normally used.

I wish today was Saturday.
(NOT I wish today would be Saturday -- Nothing to do with willingness.)

I hope she doesn't have an accident.
(NOT I wish she wouldn't have an accident - Nothing to do with willingness)

Swan, Practical English Usage
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Marius Hancu · Answer

Still, I think
I wish it kept
is idiomatic too:
-------
S: I wish it kept track of what it had told me already. I'm not
stupid, you know.... [Enters: Help]

http://www.pitt.edu/AFShome/v/a/vanlehn/public/html/FoundationsOfAI98/BuildingMTT/sld031.htm

------

With impeccable timing, the Bush administration has chosen this moment
to wind down its operations in Afghanistan, leaving NATO troops to
struggle with the Taliban. If the president and his advisers ever stop
to wonder why so many people hate them, they need look no further:
They talk about exporting democracy and freedom but what does any of
it mean to women in Helmand province? Much as I dislike the Bush
administration, this is one occasion when I wish it kept its promises.

http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/views06/0614-27.htm
--------

Aperisic · Answer

My suggestion. Before you go into this area be sure that you are clear with usage of tenses, all tenses. If you are not then going into subjunctive and close to that forms is very difficult.

I wish I had an umbrella. I want to have an umbrella now but I do not

I wish I could have an umbrella. I want to have an umbrella but I can't.

I wish I would have an umbrella. Several possible meanings, which I am not going into now (shortly would says about frustration that either the job is not done or something expected did not happen already or someone does not do the job as expected I wish you would try to understand.)

I wish I have an umbrella. Grammatically not preferable

I wish I had have an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (purely instead of have one needs had)

I wish I had had an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it

I wish I should have had an umbrella. Oh, my, can I do this? I think now that it would be nice to have had a need for an umbrella somewhere in the past.

I wish I would have had an umbrella.(almost) = I wish I had had an umbrella. similar to the above plus: it was nice to have had an umbrella before something else happened in the past (frustration is possible here as well)

I wish I could have had an umbrella. I think now that it would be nice that I had an opportunity to have an umbrella in the past.

What else to say? I'll try after this headache passes. (Aspirin, where is that darn aspirin…)

I wish I had no headache now.

Marius Hancu · Answer

AperisicI wish I had have an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (purely instead of have one needs had)

Is this had have a typo?

Aperisic · Answer

Marius Hancu
Aperisic
I wish I had have an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (purely instead of have one needs had)

Is this had have a typo?

No, the wrong and correct versions are mixed - it says

I wish I had have an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (purely instead of have one needs had)

and I forgot another typo

I wish I have had an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (and again purely instead of have one needs had)

Marius Hancu · Answer

Aperisic No, the wrong and correct versions are mixed - it says
I wish I had have an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (purely instead of have one needs had)

and I forgot another typo

I wish I have had an umbrella. I did not have an umbrella in the past before something happened but I could not have it (and again purely instead of have one needs had)

I believe the correct form for the first is:

I wish I had had an umbrella.

I do not find any reasonable quotations at Yahoo or New York Times with
"had have an"
"had have"
Perhaps you can show some such.

The only reasonable "had have" I find are followed by past participles, which is usual fare.

Or perhaps you meant "had/have." That's something else, and if that's what you meant by mixing, I understand.

Aperisic · Answer

Marius HancuI believe the correct form for the first is:

I wish I had had an umbrella.

Yes, that is the only one correct. I just wanted to be as thorough as possible and to say that if one encounters

I wish I have had or I wish I had have

to consider as it is probably written

I wish I had had though some people use I have had instead of I had.

Nothing else. Around three million of "I wish I have had" usages convinced me that one may encounter it far more often then the grammar allows

"I wish I had a" 1.860.000 usages
"I wish I have had a" 2.400.000 usages
"I wish I had had a" 22.100 usages only
"I wish I had have a" 51.100 usages

Obviously, people tend to use grammatically incorrect versions, which is a fairly unique behavior, so unique that I expect a grammar revision. Compare with no less puzzling

"I wish I saw a" 86.200 usages
"I wish I have seen a" 430.000 usages
"I wish I had seen a" 6.560 usages

"I wish I saw" 61.600 usages

"I wish I have seen" 1.380.000 usages

"I wish I had seen" 122.000
Strange. But, anyhow I have used these data only to show that you can find a lot of errors around regarding "I wish I". That is why I treated I have had and I had have as used, thus possible, though incorrect.

could - the use of modals

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