Wish...

Question

Hi,What is the difference between these two sentences?I feel that #1 refers to the past and #2 refers to what the speaker wants in the future.1. I really wish that you listened me more.2. I really wish that you would listen me more.Thanks,MG.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

listen can't be followed directly by its object. You have to put to between.

I wish you listened to me more. / I wish you would listen to me more.

They are two ways of saying the same thing. There is no past/future time difference. Both statements are about an imagined future.

CJ

Musicgold · Answer

Thanks CJ.

CalifJim There is no past/future time difference. Both statements are about an imagined future.

I am confused now. If the following two sentences convey different meaning, why don't #1 and #2?

3. I wish I studied more for the exam. ( I would have passed).

4. I wish I would study more for the exam. (I would pass).

CalifJim · Answer

MusicgoldI am confused now.

That's not surprising. This is a difficult subject. It turns out that the verb wish has an unusual grammar. I don't think I can cover all the subtleties in just one post, nor do I claim to understand them all.

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Let's get one small matter out of the way first.
Sentence 4 is semantically anomalous, as are all sentences of the form "I wish I would", where "I' is the agent of an action. Wishes cannot normally be applied to one's own actions because a person has control of one's own actions. You only have wishes about what you can't control.

So, to illustrate your point, you need to talk about one person's wish about another person's actions.

I wish [you / he / Tom / the students / ...] would study more for the exam.

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To avoid confusion I wish should be followed by would (+ base form) when the wish is actually a hope about the future and followed by had (+ past participle) when the wish is actually a regret about the past.

Future hope:

I wish you would listen to me more. (You haven't yet. I hope you will.)

I wish you would study harder. (You haven't yet. I hope you will.)

I wish Larry would repair the roof. (He hasn't yet. I hope he will.)

Past regret:

I wish you had listened to me more. (You didn't, and I regret that.)

I wish you had studied more. (You didn't, and I regret that.)

I wish Larry had repaired the roof. (He didn't, and I regret that.)
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The use of the past after wishis ambiguous. Sometimes it seems more like a future hope and sometimes more like a past regret. The type of verb plays a role. Stative verbs seem to occur in the simple past with a future-hope meaning. I haven't made a thorough research of it.

Use the search box to find more posts on the subject. Here are a few you might want to read.

CJ

English 1b3 · Answer

That's a good coverage, CJ. Your explanation is the same as all that I've read. But this below isn't mentioned in sites, which is why me, and I'm sure others, get confused at times.

CalifJimThe use of the past after wish is ambiguous. Sometimes it seems more like a future hope and sometimes more like a past regret. The type of verb plays a role. Stative verbs seem to occur in the simple past with a future-hope meaning. I haven't made a thorough research of it

Musicgold · Answer

Thanks CJ.

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