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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
wish/wished
Hello,
I've got a question about tenses in wish clauses. I know that it's ok to say:
I wish he stopped smoking.(now) /I wish he would stop smoking.(used for annoying habits, unwillingness)
I wish he'd stopped smoking.(before)
However, I'm not sure about what happens with the tenses if I'm talking about it in the past, f.e. if I'm telling a story. Do I keep the same tenses?
I wished he stopped/ would stop smoking."(simultaneous)
I wished he had stopped smoking. (previously).
Thank you.
Peta
I've got a question about tenses in wish clauses. I know that it's ok to say:
I wish he stopped smoking.(now) /I wish he would stop smoking.(used for annoying habits, unwillingness)
I wish he'd stopped smoking.(before)
However, I'm not sure about what happens with the tenses if I'm talking about it in the past, f.e. if I'm telling a story. Do I keep the same tenses?
I wished he stopped/ would stop smoking."(simultaneous)
I wished he had stopped smoking. (previously).
Thank you.
Peta
Top answer
" -- not right. This pattern is for things that people do habitually or continuously, often non-volitionally; for example, "I wish he had a sense of humour" or "I wish she loved me".
- " -- not right.
- This pattern is for things that people do habitually or continuously, often non-volitionally; for example, "I wish he had a sense of humour" or "I wish she loved me".
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1 Answers
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"I wish (that) he would stop smoking." -- wish now for something to happen now or in the future
"I wish (that) he had stopped smoking." -- wish now that something had happened in the past
"I wished (that) he would stop smoking." -- wish in the past for something to happen then
"I wished (that) he had stopped smoking." -- wish in the past that something had happened earlier in the past
"I wish (that) he had stopped smoking." -- wish now that something had happened in the past
"I wished (that) he would stop smoking." -- wish in the past for something to happen then
"I wished (that) he had stopped smoking." -- wish in the past that something had happened earlier in the past
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