I+wish

The grammar of wishes
Some things aren't perfect, and we make wishes. The reality is one thing, and our wish is different. To understand the grammar of wishing, we will distinguish between wishing about the present, wishing about the past and wishing about things that bother us but that we can't change.

__wishing about the present __
We use the **past subjunctive tense** when we make wishes about the **present situation**.  For example, I don't have wings, although I would love to have wings, so I say:  "I wish //**I had**// wings!" ("I had" looks just like the past simple, but it's really the past subjunctive)

 Here are some other examples:  I can't fly, but I wish I **could ** fly!  Mary isn't here, but we all wish she **were** here!

__wishing about the past __
We use the **past perfect tense** when we make wishes about the **past situation.**  For example, I didn't give my wife flowers for her birthday, but I wish I **had given** her flowers. another example: I had oysters for lunch, and now I wish I hadn't eaten so many.

__wishing about things that bother us (and that probably won't change!) __
We use **would** and the bare **infinitive** to express wishes of this type. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> For example, my brother never writes me. I wish he **would write** more often! (but I know he probably won't change) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I wish the US army **would get out of** Afghanistan! (but I know they are going to be there for a long time .) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> I wish this rain **would stop**! (but the forecast is for more rain)

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> To do an exercise: go to <span class="url" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[]