WISH


Meaning of WISH in English

verb

1

BAD : I wish you have a wonderful holiday.

GOOD : I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

BAD : I wish you will enjoy your stay here.

GOOD : I hope you will enjoy your stay here.

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Use wish that (+ past/past perfect tense) for things that cannot happen or will probably not happen: 'I wish I hadn't told them my address.' 'I wish you could stay here longer.' (= this will probably not happen)

Use hope that (+ present/present perfect tense) for things that may easily happen or may easily have happened: 'I hope you've had a successful trip.' 'We hope you all have a very merry Christmas.'

When wish is used for this meaning, the object is a noun phrase (NOT a that clause): 'I wish you a safe journey.' 'We'd like to wish you all a very merry Christmas.'

2

DUBIOUS : I wish to send you a wedding present.

GOOD : I'd like to send you a wedding present.

DUBIOUS : I wish to stay until the end of July but I can't.

GOOD : I'd like to stay until the end of July but I can't.

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When you tell someone what you want (to do), or ask someone what they want (to do), use would like or (especially in informal styles) want : 'I'd like to buy a few postcards.' 'What would you like to do tonight?'

Wish is used with this meaning only in formal styles: 'We wish to apologize for the late arrival of this train.'

3

BAD : I wish that they will stop killing each other.

GOOD : I wish that they would stop killing each other.

BAD : He wishes he can drive a car; taxis are so expensive.

GOOD : He wishes he could drive a car; taxis are so expensive.

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When you are thinking about the present or the future, use wish (that) + would /could/had etc. (NOT will/can/have etc.) 'I wish I knew his telephone number.' 'I wish I didn't have to go to school tomorrow.'

Longman Common Errors English vocabulary.      Английский словарь распространенных ошибок Longman.