# EN: wish + tense & mode



## Benoît abroad

Who can explain the use of this verb?

I believed that we need a past form like:

"I wish you were here" (sorry I'm a Pink Floyd fan! -)-)
"I wish you would tell him".

Now I'm disconcerned since I have seen a present form:

"I wish somebody can explain".

Am I wrong?

Thank you

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads have been merged to create this one.


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## jann

> I believed that we need a past form


Actually, I think it's an example of the elusive English subjunctive... which does happen to look a bit like the past. 

We are not so good at using the subjunctive in English, at least in comparison with French.   Thus you will commonly hear "I wish I was rich," even though it would probably be better to say, "I wish I were rich."  The former is indicative, the latter subjunctive.  I strongly prefer the latter, but both forms are common enough that the indicative does not really sound "wrong."

I would prefer, "I wish somebody could explain..."
In this particular example, I agree that using "can" instead of "could" actually sounds strange.

I hope that is helpful...


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## David

I have seen a present form:

"I wish somebody can explain".

If you saw it, you weren´t wrong. The person who wrote it was.
If didn´t see it, but remember it that way, or use it that way, then you are wrong.

I wish somebody could explain...

As Jann says, the subjunctive is dying in English, but survives in some places and is still mandatory in a few. This is one of them.

I wuda if I cuda, but I cou'nt so I dint.


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## radagasty

jann said:


> Actually, I think it's an example of the elusive English subjunctive... which does happen to look a bit like the past.


 
At is happens, Benoit is right, and so are you. Verbs of wishing and wanting are followed by the optative subjunctive, which takes the form of the past subjunctive in English. E.g.,

_I wish I *were *rich._
_I would that he *were* here._

Note that verbs of commanding, suggesting and requesting don't take the optative subjunctive, but rather the mandative subjunctive, which takes the form of the present subjunctive in English.

I would go so far as to say that _I wish I *am *rich._ and _I wish he *can* come._ are incorrect, or, at the very least, sound uneducated.

It is rather unfortunate that the terminology 'present' and 'past' subjunctive is still used in English, for although that is how those forms were historically derived, in modern English, the tenses of the subjunctive no longer have much to do with time. It might be more helpful to call them 'subjunctive I' and 'subjunctive II' instead, as the Germans do with their Konjunktiv.


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## jann

> are incorrect, or, at the very least, sound uneducated.


Well, this may depend on where you live in the English-speaking world... and perhaps upon your personal background.  I assure that "I wish I was" is so common in American English that only the strictest of grammarians cringe when they hear it in daily speech.  Now I'm not saying this makes it correct... I'm just making an observation about current usage among Americans, including the educated.


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## marget

radagasty said:


> _I would that he *were* here._


 Do you actually say "*I* would that he were here"?  I am only familiar with "Would that he were here".


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## geostan

radagasty said:


> _I would that he *were* here._



I doubt that anyone would say: *I would that he were here*.  If anything, he might say: *Would that he were here*. But even this is outdated, unless one had a humorous motive for using it.

I don't cringe when I hear "I wish he was here." I simply sigh. Yes, it is all too true. This is rapidly becoming the norm, except for older people who were taught to say the other.

As for, "I wish somebody can explain," I will stick my neck out and say that this is incorrect. It is at the very least unidiomatic. One could say: I _*hope*_ somebody can explain. But as was already suggested, _*could*_ is the proper form to use in the given example.


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## radagasty

marget said:


> _Do you actually say "*I* would that he were here"? I am only familiar with "Would that he were here"._


 
To be perfectly frank, Marget, I would say neither, for they both sound a little affected.


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## ramaud

I've always used this expression 'I wish' with a preterite
as for example
I wish I were rich
I wish I lived in the country

I've come across this expression
I wish their baby *would* stop crying
I wish they *would* turn down the radio

does it make any difference? to use 'would'?
I wish their baby stopped crying (correct?) = I wish it would stop crying?

I wish they turned down the radio (right?) = I wish they would turn it down

if so, could I say (for my first 2 examples):
I wish I would be rich (??)
I wish I would live in the country (?)
 = does it mean the same?

thanks


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## Thomas1

ramaud said:


> I wish I were rich these refer to the present
> I wish I lived in the country
> […]
> I wish I would be rich (??) these could refer to the future
> I wish I would live in the country (?)


I don't know if the difference is that important/transparent in your other examples, but I would go for _would _more likely I guess.

Tom


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## ramaud

so you're saying that both structures are equivalent with a slight difference
I wish I were rich  (means I'm not , and I'm unhappy!)

I wish I would be rich (means I still hope I will be one day!)

did I get right??
so I could actually use both


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## Tim~!

ramaud said:


> I've always used this expression 'I wish' with a preterite
> as for example
> I wish I were rich


That's actually a past subjunctive   It surprises most people to find that out, especially as 'to be' is the only verb where there is a difference between the preterite and past subjunctive.

The choice of what tense or mood to use after "I wish" depends on the time that you're thinking about.

When you say that you want to be rich, that refers to the current state.  "I am rich."  "I am not rich, though I wish I were."

When you speak of the baby, the "now state" isn't that "the baby is shut up", since "shutting up" is an action that is finished as soon as you noticed it.  You could say "I wish the baby were quiet/were not crying" or "I wish it would shut up/stop crying", but you can't use the last two with "were", since you can't say "the baby is shutting up/stopping crying".

There is also a past form you could use: "I wish I had been born in the eighteenth century".


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## Thomas1

ramaud said:


> so you're saying that both structures are equivalent with a slight difference
> I wish I were rich  (means I'm not , and I'm unhappy!)
> I wish I would be rich (means I still hope I will be one day!)


Well, not always.
There's more to it than what I have just written.


> The usage of “would” is dependable in such cases and it depends upon whether the subject really can change the situation or not if the situation can be changed by the subject (i.e. he is able to change it) then you can use “would”. However, if the situation cannot be controlled by him you shouldn’t use “would.”


 Here you may find an interesting discussion about the subject, see if it helps and feel free to ask more questions if it doesn't. 

Tom


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## Charlie Parker

I'm a little late getting to the party. You should not say "I wish I would be rich" but rather "I wish I *could *be rich." Same for your second sentence. It should be "I wish I could live in the country." Both of those refer to the future. "I wish I were rich" or "I wish I lived in the country" refer to the present. I cannot give you a grammatical reason, but I can assure you that those last two example just do not sound right in English.


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## Thomas1

It's true that not all that's grammatical sounds stylistically good. That's one of the reasons for which native speakers are so helpful.  

I am wondering, however, if "I wish I could live in the country" could refer to the present too. Say, I don't earn much money and I can't afford to rent a cottage in the country, because it is too expensive. So if I earned more money I could rent it and could live in the country. 

Tom


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## Charlie Parker

That's a good question Tom. However, the example you give refers to the future. You do not earn enough money now, at this time (present) so you cannot buy or rent now. If you earned more money (that refers to the future) you could rent a place in the country (again, in the future). I think most English-speakers would understand it that way.


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## chillinged

Maybe it varies depending on american english but I would say  that 'I wish I were rich' is far more natural than 'I wish I could be rich' especially in UK English.


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## Charlie Parker

Yes chillinged, you're right. It does sound better to my ear as well. I lived in the UK for a while. If I'm not mistaken the "were" is actually the subjunctive.


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## Dalì66

We use would when we want something to happen or someone else to do something therefore you cannot say 'I wish I would...'. In the original examples posted you would simply say 'I wish I were rich' & 'I wish I lived in the country'. But you could say 'I wish Peter would work harder' & 'I wish it would stop raining'.
Hope that help,


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## quinoa

wish + subject + would + verb refers to something in the future depending on the will of the subject (and it can be contradicting the present situation : _I wish you wouldn't make so much noise!_)


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## anfrony

Charlie Parker said:


> That's a good question Tom. However, the example you give refers to the future. You do not earn enough money now, at this time (present) so you cannot buy or rent now. If you earned more money (that refers to the future) you could rent a place in the country (again, in the future). I think most English-speakers would understand it that way.




Technically, "I wish I could live in the country" still refers to the present. The difference between "I wish I _lived_ in the country" and "I wish I _could_ live in the country" is not a difference of time but of verb choice and of what you're actually trying to say, like the difference between "to eat" and "to drink." This becomes clear when you say "I wish I were capable of living in the country" since "can" means "to be able/capable."

It just depends on what you want to emphasize. If you say, "I wish I lived in the country," then you actually have the desire to live in the country. If you say, "I wish I could live in the country," the desire to live in the country may be implied, but it's not explicit. All you're really saying is that you wish you had the capability, whether it be a question of money,  job, or something else. 

Furthermore, I think the best way to explain why "I wish I would live in the country" doesn't make sense is that the future subjunctive (would) in this case is used more as a polite way of replacing the imperative. Instead of saying "stop talking" you can more politely say "I wish you would stop talking." Since the imperative is reserved for the second person, to say "I wish I would" only makes sense in bizarre situations where you are talking to yourself. Again, these situations are rather rare. For instance, there is a someone you like, but you are too nervous to talk to them. You could say to yourself, "I wish I would just get the nerve to go talk to him/her." But the only reason you could say this is that, alternatively, you could say the same thing in the imperative mood (you have to imagine yourself standing in front of a mirror and saying to yourself  "Just get the nerve to go talk to him/her.")


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## lrosa

I agree with *everything *that Anfrony said just before me.

Charlie Parker was referring to "I wish I could live in the country" as a "future" wish; however, I think that the verb "wish" simply does not work with reference to events far in the future, because "wish" is a verb that strongly evokes an immediate desire for something to happen. I think it would be more appropriate to use the verb "hope" in these circumstances: "I hope that I'll be able to live in the country when I'm older"/"I hope I'll be living in the country in a few years' time."


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## Partyanne

Hello everyone

I know this must have been posted so many times on wordreference but I have not found something that satisfied me.

I would like to know the very difference between
I wish I did
I wish I had done
I wish I could do
I wish I would do

I have already looked on the internet but this is still confusing. I hope someone will make my day.
Cheers
P.a.


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## jann

In French, when you need to refer back to an idea without repeating it, you can replace nouns with pronouns, but you must generally repeat the entire verbal construction.  

In English, we do not have to repeat the whole verbal construction.  We often manage to refer back to an idea without repeating by using a statement that contains only a verbal auxiliary... as in the sentences you have listed above. The difference between them is one of (a) tense and (b) verb.  As you may remember, we routinely use the preterit in English to refer to hypothetical situations that are contrary to fact (unless the verb is "to be," in which case we might manage to use the subjunctive).

Do you have [present] two million dollars?  
No, but I wish I had [preterit] / did have [preterit, emphatic form] a million dollars 
--> No, but I wish I did! [preterit, emphatic form] = _Si seulement je les avais !_

Did you finish [preterit] your homework before dinner?
No, but I wish I had finished [pluperfect] my homework because now I want to watch TV and I need to work on math instead.
--> No, but I wish I had (done). [pluperfect] _= Si seulement je les avais faits !_
In American English, we would omit the past participle "done."  I believe it might be more frequent to include it in British English (?).

Can [present] you come to the party on Saturday?
I'm sorry, I have a prior engagement, but I wish I could [preterit] come to the party!
--> No, but I wish I could. [preterit] = _Si seulement je pouvais venir !  J'aimerais pouvoir venir mais malheureusement..._ 

"I wish I would" isn't logical.  "Would" implies a decision, rather than an external limitation.  You control your own decisions.  Since there is no external limit, there is nothing preventing you from doing what you want to do.  Therefore wishing about your own actions is illogical.  But you can certainly have wishes about someone else's actions:

Does [present] John ever give you flowers?
No, but I wish he would give [conditional] me flowers on occasion.
--> No, but I wish he would. [conditional] = _Non, mais je voudrais bien qu'il m'en offre de temps en temps, ce serait bien s'il m'en offrait de temps en temps.
_No, but I wish he gave [preterit] / did give [emphatic preterit] me flowers on occasion.
--> No, but I wish he did. [preterit] = _Si seulement il m'en donnait !

_Only in this last sentence is a choice between "I wish he did" and "I wish he would" possible.  The former uses the preterit, and it is a statement of fact: John does not give you flowers and you don't like that.   The latter uses the conditional and so it is a gentler statement, less critical: the fact that John doesn't give you flowers bothers you a bit, but you're not condeming it outright.


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## EnFrDe

jann said:


> ...In American English, we would omit the past participle "done."  I believe it might be more frequent to include it in British English (?).



More and more frequently in UK English we would also drop the past participle, so as in the American, we would say, "...but I wish had [done my homework]!"


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## Rocksong

Bonjour,

j'aimerais comprendre la différence entre l'usage de could et would ici:

"I wish (I could/I would) go"

Merci


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## Maabdreo

I don't think I have ever said "I wish I *would *go."  You might say "I wish _she_ *would* go" which implies that it's her decision to go or not and it seems like she won't go.  You would say "I wish she *could* go" if there were something preventing her from going beyond her control.


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## Keith Bradford

_*I wish I would*_ est logiquement impossible, comme l'a dit Jann (voir #3). C'est l'équivalent de "_je voudrais que je veuille_".

Mais on peut mettre tes deux phrases à la 2e ou 3e personne, ainsi :

I wish you could go = ah, si tu pouvais y aller !
I wish you would go = je voudrais que tu y ailles ! [= _que tu veuilles y aller_]

(Bien sûr, "go" signifie également "partir" et _I wish you would go = je voudrais que tu partes_ !)


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## wmssean

Not always, especially if it's "wish fulfillment" about things we have no control over, such as our body, as in story telling for children:  "I wish I would grow up!", said little 5-year old Max, the shortest boy in his class.  (Implying, 'I wish my body would grown up faster.')

I'm not sure how that translates in French, but it is logical in English to say "I wish I would" in some cases.


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## cxvd7391

I 'd want to know the difference, the nuance between these two expressions .
1 - We wish you went to home 
2 - We wish you would go to home


Firstly, are they both exact ? and finally which difference between them ?

I don't really see the nuance, for me it means the same think : is it right ? 

If i could find a nuance, i 'd say  (but may be it's not correct) that  :

The first expression express perhaps a regret  :  Nous regrettons que vous ne soyez pas rentrés.
The second expression express perhaps a wish  : Nous souhaitons que vous rentriez.

An other question : can we use a negative sentence with the expression wish ?

1 - We don't wish you went to home :  Nous regrettons que vous ne soyez pas rentrés.
2 - We don't wish you would go to home : Nous ne souhaitons pas que vous rentriez.

Thanks a lot to all for your comments and replies.


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## geostan

I wouldn't use the first sentence.  Further, we say *home*, not *to home* in these sentences.


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## Donaldos

Au sujet de ce _would_, on peut se rappeler que :

1. Le prétérit modal après _wish_ a une valeur d'irréel : _I wish we were rich_ ⇒ _We are not rich_.
2. _would_ est la forme prétérit du modal _will_

Une phrase comme _I wish it would stop raining_ contient donc la négation implicite de l'événement futur _it will stop raining_. Cette caractéristique tend à apporter une nuance expressive à la phrase par rapport au prétérit simple.

Ainsi, on a l'habitude de dire que _would_ traduit plus vivement l'émotion, l'impatience, l'agacement du locuteur face à une situation avec en arrière-plan l'idée plus ou moins présente que la situation ne changera pas. Certains disent aussi que ce _would_ traduit l'incapacité du locuteur à changer les choses ou le fait que les évènements ne dépendent pas de lui.

_I wish it would stop raining._ (exemple standard)​
Comme ce _would_ implique plus le locuteur, il peut sous-entendre que ce dernier exige un changement et s'apparenter à une demande voire un ordre :

_I wish you didn't work on weekends._ (je déplore cet état de fait)
_I wish you wouldn't work on weekends_. (j'en ai assez, j'aimerais que ça cesse)​


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## Latege

cxvd7391 said:


> I 'd want to know the difference, the nuance between these two expressions .
> 1 - We wish you went to home
> 2 - We wish you would go to home
> 
> 1 - We don't wish you went to home :  Nous regrettons que vous ne soyez pas rentrés.
> 2 - We don't wish you would go to home : Nous ne souhaitons pas que vous rentriez.
> 
> Thanks a lot to all for your comments and replies.



The first one simply isn't grammatical English, use no. two. Likewise in the negative. To translate your French of the first negative sentence I'd say "We regret that you didn't go home." (Did you intend a negative in the second half of the phrase?)


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## cxvd7391

[…]

I wish you were here = Je regrette que tu ne sois pas là
I wish you weren't here = Je regrette que tu sois là

I wish you didn't work on weekends = Je regrette que vous travailliez les week-ends
I wish you worked on weekends = Je regrette que vous ne travailliez pas les week-ends
Pour les deux on déplore cet état de fait on le regrette

I wish you wouldn't work on weekends = Je souhaite que vous ne travailliez pas les week ends
I wish you would work on weekends = Je souhaite que vous travailliez les week ends
Pour les deux on souhaite que cette situtation change

Si j'ai bien compri les traductions doivent être corrects ? Donc a priori pour exprimer la négation donc changer le sens de la phrase celle-ci intervient dans
la phrase qui suit Sujet + wish.
Merci en tout cas pour vos explications.


Thanks for you reply Latege

Explain me why the first sentence isn't correct ? I don't understand the "use no" .

1 - Nous regrettons que vous ne soyez pas rentrés. How woud you translate this sentence in english ?
2 - Nous souhaitons que vous rentriez. How would you translate this one ?

1 - Nous regrettons que vous soyez rentrés  = How would you translate this one ?
2 - Nous souhaitons que vous ne rentriez pas = How would you translate this one ?

Thanks a lot


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## Chimel

cxvd7391 said:


> I wish you were here = Je regrette que tu ne sois pas là


Ou, plus couramment: Si tu étais là... (Ah si seulement tu étais là!)
I wish it would stop raining: Si seulement il pouvait arrêter de pleuvoir!

Non seulement cette traduction est plus courante que celle avec "regretter" (qui peut néanmoins être tout à fait pertinente dans certains cas), mais elle évite de devoir transformer le verbe à la voix affirmative en anglais en une voix affirmative en français, ou vice-versa.


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## Latege

cxvd7391 said:


> Explain me why the first sentence isn't correct ? I don't understand the "use no" .



Sorry, I simply meant use number 2 (no. being an abbreviation of number).

You simply don't use a preterite/simple past tense with "wish". It's either the conditional, as you have in number 2 ("would go") if the the wish is still current, or plusperfect or conditional perfect  ("had gone/would have gone") if the opportunity for fulfilling the wish is already past.


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## pmin

Here is the context: A woman has stumbled and fell and now she is covered in mud
Should I say:

She wishes her dress weren´t covered in mud. / She wishes her dress would not be covered in mud.

She wishes she wore pants. / She wishes she would wear pants.

I know that English speakers used WISH + PRETERIT to express regret and WISH + WOULD to express dissatisfaction and I don´t see the difference in this context. 

Thank you for your answer.


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## Oddmania

Salut,

On utilise _wish _+ _would _pour exprimer une insatisfaction *envers quelqu'un d'autre.* Ce qu'il ne faut pas oublier, ce que l'auxiliaire _will _(ainsi que sa forme passée _would_) peuvent exprimer un sentiment de volonté. Quand on demande _Who*'ll* volunteer?_, on n'exprime pas le futur, mais bien la volonté : _Qui *veut *se porter volontaire?_

De la même manière, lorsqu'on dit _I wish you would..._, on formule en fait un souhait : _Si seulement tu *voulais bien* faire quelque chose..._

_.....I wish you*'d* stay, I wish you*'d* stop,..._

Ainsi, dans vos phrases, _would _ne marche pas, à mon sens.


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## jann

pmin said:


> Here is the context: A woman has stumbled and fell and now she is covered in mud


She wishes her dress weren't/wasn't covered in mud.  (were = subjunctive / was = preterit)
She wishes she were/was wearing pants.  (continuous aspect is needed here)
She wishes her dress wouldn't be... 

Wish + would (wish + present conditional) is generally for expressing influence or preference when there is a possibility to change an outcome ("I wish you woudn't slam the door.")  This is essentially a _conditionnel de politesse_.  One doesn't usually express wishes about one's own present case unless there is something preventing you from doing what you want to do ("I wish I could...").  By extension, we sometimes also use a wish + past conditional (instead of wish + pluperfect) to express regret about a past behavior/decision -- even one's own -- that could have been different with improved foresight.   For example:

She wishes she had thought to put on pants before going out for a country walk.
She wishes she would have thought to put on pants...


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## Keith Bradford

Jann, assuming that the two _she's_ refer to the same person, I find your second example: _She wishes she would have thought to put on pants_... so unlikely as to be non-English.  (And equally non-French as it translates to:_ Elle veut qu'elle veuille_... )

Only your first version works for me: *She wishes she had thought... *


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## jann

Keith Bradford said:


> Jann, assuming that the two _she's_ refer to the same person, I find your second example: _She wishes she would have thought to put on pants_... so unlikely as to be non-English.  (And equally non-French as it translates to:_ Elle veut qu'elle veuille_... )


Personally, I'm not a fan of this usage... but it's not so unnatural as to sound non-native to my ear.  I seem to recall this is a US-UK difference (?)

As for the translation of such a structure -- reproducing the unnecessarily unwieldy aspect -- it would be more like _elle aurait voulu qu'elle ait pensé à mettre un pantalon_, as opposed to the more straightforward _elle regrette de ne pas avoir mis..._ But I don't see a reason to use _vouloir _twice.


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