ملخص الدرس / الثالثة ثانوي/اللغة الإنجليزية/Grammar/I wish- I were- I had

In modern, spoken English both “I wish I were” and “I wish I was” are accepted as being grammatically correct, but usually and in formal contexts it is more appropriate to use ‘I wish I were’.

It is used to express that we want a situation in the present (or future) to be different.

E.g.1 I wish I spoke Italian. (I don’t speak Italian)

E.g.2 I wish I had a big car. (I don’t have a big car)

E.g.3 I wish I were on a beach. (I’m in the office)

E.g.4 I wish it were the weekend. (It’s only Wednesday)

It is used to express that we want to be doing a different action in the present (or future).

E.g.1 I wish I were lying on a beach now. (I’m sitting in the office)

E.g.2 I wish it weren’t raining. (It is raining)

E.g.3I wish you weren’t leaving tomorrow. (You are leaving tomorrow)

It is used to express regret, or that we want a situation in the past to be different (wishes for the past).

E.g.1 I wish I hadn’t eaten so much. (I ate a lot)

E.g.2 I wish they’d come on holiday with us. (They didn’t come on holiday)

E.g.3 I wish I had studied harder at school. (I was lazy at school)

E.g.4 I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.