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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Use of 'I wish', complex sentences
I wish someone told him what does it mean to be a marine.
I wish someone told him what did it mean to be a marine.
I wish someone would tell him what does it mean to be a marine.
I wish someone would tell him what did it mean to be a marine.
The sense I wish to convey is that person A has seen person B doing something which is unbecoming of a scrupulous marine and he is expressing his disappointment over it.
Would anyone kindly tell me which one sentence from each of the above two pairs would be most correct to use and why? Actually, I am a bit confused about the use of "I wish...". I know that we use past tense in the part which follows "I wish", but I am a bit uncertain about which tense would I use in case these type of sentences get longer and complex, as in the examples above.
I wish someone told him what did it mean to be a marine.
I wish someone would tell him what does it mean to be a marine.
I wish someone would tell him what did it mean to be a marine.
The sense I wish to convey is that person A has seen person B doing something which is unbecoming of a scrupulous marine and he is expressing his disappointment over it.
Would anyone kindly tell me which one sentence from each of the above two pairs would be most correct to use and why? Actually, I am a bit confused about the use of "I wish...". I know that we use past tense in the part which follows "I wish", but I am a bit uncertain about which tense would I use in case these type of sentences get longer and complex, as in the examples above.
Top answer
'Wish' needn't refer to the past. You can use either of these, depending on which you mean (see bracketed words): I wish someone had told him [in the past] what it means to be a Marine. I wish someone would tell him [now or soon] what it means to be a Marine.
- 'Wish' needn't refer to the past.
- You can use either of these, depending on which you mean (see bracketed words): I wish someone had told him [in the past] what it means to be a Marine.
- I wish someone would tell him [now or soon] what it means to be a Marine.
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1 Answers
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'Wish' needn't refer to the past. You can use either of these, depending on which you mean (see bracketed words):
I wish someone had told him [in the past] what it means to be a Marine.
I wish someone would tell him [now or soon] what it means to be a Marine.
I wish someone had told him [in the past] what it means to be a Marine.
I wish someone would tell him [now or soon] what it means to be a Marine.
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