# I wish



## marimar

Hola, en mi libro de inglés aparece la siguiente explicación sobre el uso de "I wish":
 
Para expresar una queja en presente: _I wish_ + _would_ _/_ _wouldn't_ + infinitive. Si el sujeto y el complemento directos coinciden, no se usa _would_.
 
Mi pregunta es: si no se usa would, ¿qué debo utilizar entonces? Muchas gracias


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## sloopjc

You can say: 
"I wish to make a complaint", or, "I would like to make a complaint". (_Both are present tense_)
Does this help?


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## marimar

Creo que no me he expresado bien. Te pongo mejor un ejemplo:
- I wish he would stop answering me

En este caso "he" es el complemento directo, que es distinto del sujeto, que es "I". Si el sujeto y el complemento directo coinciden, ¿qué construcción utilizo con "would"?


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## arnauri

Creo que se usa could en este caso.

I wish a could go to the party.

Un saludo.


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## sloopjc

arnauri said:


> Creo que se usa could en este caso.
> 
> I wish a could go to the party.
> 
> Un saludo.



Correction, "I wish *I* could go to the party"


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## leftbanker

_I wish I would have said that.  

I wish that I would have known you were comin_g.

These two examples imply that the second clause in the sentence was out of your control.

_I wish I could go _(but I can't).

This implies inability.


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## arnauri

sloopjc said:


> Correction, "I wish *I* could go to the party"




Es eso lo que quería decir, jeje. 

Thanks anyway.

Un saludo


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## sloopjc

leftbanker said:


> _I wish I would have said that.
> 
> I wish that I would have known you were comin_g.
> 
> These two examples imply that the second clause in the sentence was out of your control.
> 
> _I wish I could go _(but I can't).
> 
> This implies inability.



That's bad English. You cannot say: "_I wish I would have.." _or "_ I wish that I would have"._


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## leftbanker

I wish I had known.  ?


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## sloopjc

Well, yes. "_I wish I had known_". Because then, "I would have known what you where saying".


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## pro_niger

As far as I know it is gramatically correct to say "I wish I would have.." and it is widely used with "known". And I even know a poem entitled "I wish I would have never met you".


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## sloopjc

There is a saying in English: "_I would if I could, but I can't_".
Hence "could" takes priority. "_I wish I would_" is nonsense. You can say: "_I wish I had done_", or "_I think I will_", or "_I wish it would_". Google for _"I wish I would" _and then get back to me_!
_


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## pro_niger

I recon you were thinking about that rule that prohibits the usage of "would" before "to be" and "to have" but in this case "to have" is an auxiliary verb and the rule doesn`t apply. This is the way I grasp it. However, I`m not a native speaker so I might be wrong


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## jivemu

"I wish I were able to..." en lugar de "I wish I could..." es lo que siempre he utilizado yo.

Saludos.


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## pro_niger

here you have a link .. check it out!
http://www.gonzaga.edu/Student+Life...rientation/What+I+Wish+I+Would+Have+Known.asp


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## sloopjc

Well there's always one! (in more than 8,168,684,336 web pages). I use Google to offer up a general consensus. You are obviously trying to make a point?


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## pro_niger

We can turn this into a polemic if persisting in our beliefs too much. Thus we`ve gone completely off-topic I think we should stop here, shouldn`t we?


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## leftbanker

Sloopjc may be correct but "_I wish I would_" is hardly nonsense. I would wager that most native English speakers would not find this construction offensive.

How about this question: What's the difference between "I wish that I were able" and "I wish that I was able"? 

Are these all examples of the subjunctive in English?


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## pro_niger

I know that the subjunctive doesn`t have two forms for the verb "to be" .. In school they`ve told us that it is "were" alone.
P.S. for Sloopjc I have provided you an university website - Aren`t they supposed to be by all means correct


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## sloopjc

pro_niger said:


> As far as I know it is gramatically correct to say "I wish I would have.." and it is widely used with "known". And I even know a poem entitled "I wish I would have never met you".



I found the poem on the Internet that you refer to here. This is known as "poetic license" - as with a "pun" or a, "play on words". Better to stick to 'general usage' for the purposes of translation.


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## pro_niger

marimar had a theoretical doubt .. so we should cover all fields.. nevertheless you are right. 
have a nice day


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## sound shift

In one of the above posts, there's the claim that most English speakers would not find _*I wish I would have (+ participle) *_offensive. All I can say is that I don't find it offensive but I do think it is wrong, and I am sure that no manual of English grammar written by a native speaker contains such a construction.


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## scortes

I wish I would... is incorrect English.

"The subject of _wish_ cannot be the same as the subject of _would_, as this would be illogical. We cannot therefore have I wish + I would." (Thomson and Martinet).

Hope this helps resolve the issue.


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## marimar

entonces puedo utilizar "I wish I could" para evitar la repeticion de "would", no?


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## pro_niger

No, that would give your sentence a hole new meaning. As someone said above you can use past perfect ( had + participle ).


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## scortes

You just need to use I wish + past

I wish I could swim.  (Here _could_ is the past of _can_ and refers to ability).
I wish I had more money.
I wish I spoke 10 languages.

Hope this helps.


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## marimar

Pero si el sentido es de queja tambien puedo utilizar el past perfect. Por ejemplo, ¿esta oracion estaria bien?: I wish I hadn't been so shy


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## scortes

Exactly - 

I wish + past perfect = expresses regret about a past situation.

I wish I hadn't eaten so much.
I wish I had studied more.

(You can, by the way, use "If only" instead of "I wish".  It means the same but is more dramatic).


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## marimar

yo me refería a una queja en el presente


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## scortes

_wish + past_ expresses a regret about a present situation

I wish I could help you understand a bit better!

(Is the problem that you don't see why you can't use "would" when the subject of each clause is the same?)


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## xavier01

As a native English speaker... I don't find "I wish I would..." to be "bad" English, I have used that construction before.  But it is a little more less used than say, "I wish I would've (have)..."


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## Zarephath

leftbanker said:


> Sloopjc may be correct but "_I wish I would_" is hardly nonsense. I would wager that most native English speakers would not find this construction offensive.
> 
> This is a true statement.
> 
> Ex: I wish I would study more effectively.
> 
> How about this question: What's the difference between "I wish that I were able" and "I wish that I was able"?
> 
> Are these all examples of the subjunctive in English?


 
Hola compadres! To answer your question since I didn't see a native English speaker posting.

I wish I were able really would infer to me that at some point in time it was possible to do something.

Example: I wish I were able to walk. This infers at some time in the persons life they could walk, but now cannot.

Example: I wish I were able to walk.(to a location, perhaps it is raining) This could be applied as well. 

I wish that I was able: Same as above or (do an action)

Example: I wish that I was able to ride a horse. Even though you can say this..it just doesn't read, sound right to me. 

"I wish I were" would be the way I would use the start of the sentence.


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