Expressing wishes

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello,

  1. I was taught that we use “would” after “wish” only in case of dynamic verbs (“I wish he would stop smoking”, etc.), otherwise we use the past form (I wish he had…"). Now, I sometimes find sentences like “I wish he stopped smoking”, which are against this rule. So could anybody tell me how to deal with wish and active/static verbs? As it is probably an extensive issue, I’ll be grateful for any online referrences with thorough explanations.

  2. Also, is it possible to say : I wish I would do sth?

Thank you in advance!

2

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  1. These are correct: I wish he would stop smoking (= now or in the future). I wish he had stopped smoking (= in the past).

I wish he stopped smoking – This is poor grammar.

I am not aware of any difference between static and active verbs in this regard. Please supply examples.

  1. Also, is it possible to say : I wish I would do sth? – Yes: I wish I wouldn’t keep biting my nails.
    .
3

Thanks for your reply. Now the static/active verbs : as far as I know we say “I wish I had a dog”, and not “I wish I would have a dog”; “I wish I knew her” and not “I wish I would know her”, etc. Is that right? if so, then these verbs need past form of the verb because they’re static. In the same manner, according to my grammar book, we say “I wish you would change your mind” and not “changed”; “I wish somebody bought me a mercedes”, and not “bought”. And verbs “change” and “buy” are active.

So, is it safe to say that static verbs take the past form after them and active take “would”? Or are there any exceptions?

4

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It seems valid; I had just never met that distinction before. We can of course say “I wish I could have a dog”. but the meaning and time are different.
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5

Let’s test it.

These wish-sentences refer to the present and future, and the verbs used are commonly classified as stative:

  • I wish she knew how to drive. (She doesn’t know how to drive, but I wish she did.)
  • I wish I felt better. (I wish I didn’t feel so lousy.)
  • I wish my son didn’t hate school. (My son hates school, and I wish he didn’t.)
  • I wish he had time to help me. (He doesn’t have time to help me, but I wish he did.)
  • I wish I owned a Jaguar. (I don’t own a Jaguar, but I wish I did.)
  • I wish that car belonged to me. (That is not my car, but I wish it was.)
  • I wish he didn’t want so much. (He wants too much. I wish he didn’t.)

The next batch of wish-sentences also refer to the present and future. The verbs are not usually classified as being stative, however these sentences seem quite natural to me and I’d say that may be because the meaning in the context is basically stative:

  • I wish he didn’t drink. (He always drinks too much. He is an alcoholic, and I wish he weren’t.)
  • I wish my pen didn’t leak. (My pen always leaks, and I wish it didn’t.)
  • I wish he didn’t always ask so much of us. (He always wants/expects too much from us.)

Raf, your sentence sounds completely wrong and unnatural to me:
*[color=red]- I wish he stopped smoking.
(Should be: I wish he would stop smoking.)

However, this one sounds fine to my ears:

  • I wish he didn’t smoke." ( = “I wish he didn’t have the smoking habit.” )

And this also sounds fine:

  • I wish he wouldn’t smoke.

The verb “smoke” can be used to refer to something a person does habitually, however “stop smoking” cannot be used the same way. A smoker might smoke lots of cigarettes daily, but a smoker will “stop smoking” only once (hopefully) and after that the smoking habit (i.e. the “state of being a smoker”) no longer exists.

6

Esl_Expert: OK, got it. Now, regarding the second batch of your sentences, is it also correct to say the following?

I wish he wouldn’t drink.
I wish he wouldn’t be drinking now.

I wish my pen wouldn’t leak.
I wish my pen wouldn’t be leaking now.

I wish he wouldn’t ask that question.
I wish he wouldn’t be asking that question now.

I wish he wouldn’t be smoking now that the children are in the room.

7

Hello Raf,

Here are some additional comments:

This is theoretically possible if the reference is to a particular future event (i.e. “not drink a particular thing” or “not drink on a particular occasion”). I would not use it if “drink” is a reference to his habitual consumption of alchohol. I would add that I think this sentence is too short to be a good example. There is not enough context for my taste.

No, the format in the previous sentence (“wouldn’t drink”) also can be used if he is currently having a drink and you don’t want him to continue drinking it – or if you want him to drink it differently, for example (see my added context below). If for whatever reason you feel an overwhelming need to use a continuous form, I’d say the most likely form would be this:

  • I wish he weren’t/wasn’t drinking that so fast.

This is possible if, for example, you are aware that he plans to ask a particular question at a particular point in the future (at an upcoming meeting, for example).

I’d say it’s also possible to use this if he has asked a particular question on a couple of different occasions, and has just now asked it once again. In other words, this might be what is happening: “He has asked the very same question a few times now, and it’s annoying. I wish he would ask a different question or just shut up.”

Again, I don’t think the continuous form is particularly likely. However, if used, I would expect to see this form:

  • I wish he weren’t/wasn’t asking that question right now.

No, I would expect this to be used instead:

  • I wish he wouldn’t smoke now that the children are in the room.

I’d say this is unlikely because a leaky pen is always a leaky pen, isn’t it? In other words, that is their usual state. Therefore, the form that refers to a state (didn’t leak) is more likely. I suppose “wouldn’t leak” could be used if the speaker is thinking only of the leaking that is happening at the moment. And if you refer to a time that your pen leaked on one particular past occasion, then you could say something like this, for example:

  • I wish my pen hadn’t leaked all over my shirt yesterday.

No, and I think a continuous form is extremely unlikely – especially for this particular sentence.