Whats hte past of present unreal conditon

Question

What is the past of present unreal conditionals ?
1. I wish I were king ( make it past )
( is it - I wished I had been king )

What's the difference between the following two -
1. "I wish it stopped raining" (actually raining here right now.. lol)
and
"I wish it would stop raining"

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

If it is an unreal condition, at a present (relative) time in the past:
I wished I were (was) king. (I had this wish once in the past)
I used to wish I were (was) king. (I had this wish habitually in the past)

I wish it would stop raining. This one is correct.

Tvrhossain · Answer

I saw this usage - "I wished I had done.... " in the past , so it should be ," I wished I had been..."
I wish it would stop raining AND I wish it stopped raining , both are correct , but there's a difference ..

CalifJim · Answer

tvrhossainWhat is the past of present unreal conditionals ?

Do you want the past only of the unreal part? I wish I were king > I wish I had been king.
Or of both parts? I wish I were king > I wished I had been king.

tvrhossainWhat's the difference between the following two?
1. "I wish it stopped raining" ... and
2. "I wish it would stop raining"

I don't use the first one. I suppose some people use 1 to mean 2.

CJ

Tvrhossain · Answer

1. I mean, the "WISHING" itself took place in the past, hence I think, "I wished I had been king" is correct but I saw that "I wished I were king" is also correct...maybe there's a difference.

2. For the second part, its really confusing that many people find ANY one is correct whereas many other make a difference. I found a difference here- http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/wish.html

CalifJim · Answer

tvrhossainI saw that "I wished I were king"

Ah. I think I see what you're asking.

(that) I were king means 'at the time expressed by the main clause'.
(that) I had been king means 'at a time that precedes the time expressed by the main clause'.

I wished I were king (at the time I wished it).
I wished I had been king (at a time before my wishing it).

I'll take a look at your link and get back to you on that.

CJ

Tvrhossain · Answer

Yes Thank u, I got the first part....imagine how difficult it is for the non-English speaker....lol.
I wished I were king (both WISHING and WISH are at the same time).
I wished I had been king (WISH took place before WISHING)

CalifJim · Answer

tvrhossainthe second part

I didn't see anything in that link that showed "I wish it stopped raining". That's because it doesn't work. Note that all the examples with the simple past (I wish I had, I wish it were, I wish ... didn't need, I wish ... lived) are stative ideas expressed with stative verbs. "stopped", on the other hand, is an action. This difference often comes into play in "wish" sentences.

CJ

Tvrhossain · Answer

The guy made a difference between " wish + simple past " and "wish + would "
Hence, "I wish it stopped raining" should also be correct (as per him) and I also found such usage elsewhere.
Are u telling me I should never use sentences like, "I wish I did ...."
Should I always use " I wish I would do...."

CalifJim · Answer

tvrhossainAre you telling me I should never use sentences like, "I wish I did ...."

Where "did" is a one-time action, these don't usually occur. People say them, but the form with "had" is the correct form.

I wish I went to that movie yesterday. (Not good.)
I wish I had gone to that movie yesterday. (Fine.)

I wish my wife remembered to buy milk on her way home. (Not good.)
I wish my wife had remembered to buy milk on her way home. (Fine.)
__________________

If "did" is a regular action, these may be used, but in my opinion the formulation is more often with "should".

I wish Larry went to movies more often. (Possible, but not so good.)
(I think) Larry should go to movies more often. (Better in my opinion.)

I wish I practiced the trumpet every day. (Possible, but not so good.)
(I think) I should practice the trumpet every day. (Better in my opinion.)
__________________

tvrhossainShould I always use " I wish I would do...."

No. In fact, you should never use "I wish I would do ...". You don't express a wish to change your own behavior because you already have control of yourself. It makes no sense to say, "I'm so lazy. I never do my homework on time. I wish I would do my homework on time." That's a lot like talking to yourself as if you were another person. Here again, "should" is the correct formulation: I should do my homework on time.

It makes more sense to say "I wish (someone else) would do ..." either when they are doing things you wish they would change or when you just want them to do something in the future.

I wish you would get home earlier after work. (You don't usually get home very early after work.)
I wish Laura would clean up her room. (Laura's room is dirty.)

CJ

Fivejedjon · Answer

CalifJimIf "did" is a regular action, these may be used, but in my opinion the formulation is more often with "should".I wish Larry went to movies more often. (Possible, but not so good.)(I think) Larry should go to movies more often. (Better in my opinion.)

I think the first sentence is fine. For me, the second has a different meaning,
The first expresses regret, the second suggest some form of obligation. This is perhaps more obvious in:

I wish my mother still knitted.

I regret that my elderly mother does not knit any more, but I don't think that she should knit.

Whats hte past of present unreal conditon

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