# I wish it rained/would rain



## Alphonso2728

Hi everyone I'd like to know if the sentences below are alright...

I wish it would rain
I wish it rained

-I think I've heard both... but I don't know if it depends on the context
-another case would be:

I wish you were...
I wish you would be...

thanks!


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## honeypie

Alphonso2728 said:


> Hi everyone I'd like to know if the sentences below are alright...
> 
> I wish it would rain
> I wish it rained
> 
> -I think I've heard both... but I don't know if it depends on the context
> -another case would be:



Aquí nos presentas con una situación un poco complicada. 

Ambas frases son correctas, pero expresan ideas distintas. Por lo general, "I wish it would rain" se refiere a un tiempo en el futuro mientras que "I wish it rained" se refiere al pasado. 

Por ejemplo:

- I wish it (had) rained yesterday.

- I wish it would rain tonight so I don't have to go to the baseball game.  


Sin embargo, ambas frases pueden significar la misma cosa en este contexto:

- I wish it rained more in the desert.  (Puede referirse al pasado o al futuro/deseo general)
- I wish it would rain more in the desert. (Se refiere al futuro/deseo general)


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## Agró

honeypie said:


> Aquí nos presentas con una situación un poco complicada.
> 
> Ambas frases son correctas, pero expresan ideas distintas. Por lo general, "I wish it would rain" se refiere a un tiempo en el futuro mientras que "I wish it rained" se refiere al pasado.
> 
> Por ejemplo:
> 
> - I wish it (had) rained yesterday.
> 
> - I wish it would rain tonight so I don't have to go to the baseball game.
> 
> 
> Sin embargo, ambas frases pueden significar la misma cosa en este contexto:
> 
> - I wish it rained more in the desert.  (Puede referirse al pasado o al futuro/deseo general)
> - I wish it would rain more in the desert. (Se refiere al futuro/deseo general)


Permíteme que te corrija pero wish + pasado simple (I wish it rained) no se refiere al pasado.
Lo que se refiere al pasado es wish + past perfect (I wish it had rained).


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## honeypie

Agró said:


> Permíteme que te corrija pero wish + pasado simple (I wish it rained) no se refiere al pasado.
> Lo que se refiere al pasado es wish + past perfect (I wish it had rained).



Pues, no soy experto en gramática, pero al menos en el habla común sí que se puede referir al pasado:

-I wish he came to the party last night = I wish he had come to the party last night

-I wish my package arrived yesterday = I wish my package had arrived yesterday

-I wish it was sunny yesterday = I wish it had been sunny yesterday


Puede ser que en el uso estricto de la gramática estas frases no se admitan, pero no suenan mal en absoluto.


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## Agró

honeypie said:


> Pues, no soy experto en gramática, pero al menos en el habla común sí que se puede referir al pasado:
> 
> -I wish he came to the party last night = I wish he had come to the party last night
> 
> -I wish my package arrived yesterday = I wish my package had arrived yesterday
> 
> -I wish it was sunny yesterday = I wish it had been sunny yesterday
> 
> 
> Puede ser que en el uso estricto de la gramática estas frases no se admitan, pero no suenan mal en absoluto.


Yo soy más experto en gramática que en el habla común, así que seguramente tienes razón: se usa (pero no _debería_ usarse).


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## honeypie

Agró said:


> Yo soy más experto en gramática que en el habla común, así que seguramente tienes razón: se usa (pero no _debería_ usarse).



Sí   Pues, supongo que yo debería haber mencionado que mi respuesta tenía que ver con el uso coloquial.


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## Spug

honeypie said:


> -I wish he came to the party last night = I wish he had come to the party last night
> 
> -I wish my package arrived yesterday = I wish my package had arrived yesterday
> 
> -I wish it was sunny yesterday = I wish it had been sunny yesterday
> 
> 
> ...no suenan mal en absoluto.



Really? The first options in each of your examples sound utterly wrong to me. I can figure them out, but they sound awful. I don't even hear uneducated speakers use this construction. Where do you hear this in the US? I'm curious.

Saludos...


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## honeypie

Really? That's so strange. To me they don't seem 100% correct (if I really think about it) but they don't come off as utterly wrong. I'm from New England (not too far from New Jersey) and I'm pretty sure I often hear this type of sentence construction. But I've been in Argentina for a while now so it's possible that I've been out of the country long enough that certain parts of the language that would have once seemed awkward don't sound that way to me anymore. 

I'm curious to see what other US English speakers think.


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## honeypie

Spug said:


> Really? The first options in each of your examples sound utterly wrong to me. I can figure them out, but they sound awful. I don't even hear uneducated speakers use this construction. Where do you hear this in the US? I'm curious.
> 
> Saludos...



The more I think about this the more convinced I am that, grammatically, my examples are incorrect but that they are indeed common sentence constructions. I'm not sure if it's a generational issue, a regional issue, or some other reason, but to me it doesn't _sound_ awkward to say something like "I wish you stayed for more than just two nights", even though it would be correct to say "I wish you *had* stayed...". Or what about "I wish you never left last night" instead of "I wish you had never left last night"? 

In fact, we can find a similar example of this type of construction right here in these forums: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1623139

In that thread an English speaker asks about "I wish I never met you" and not "I wish I had never met you". Both of those sound quite normal to me.

Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention. It's something I don't often think about.


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## FromPA

I agree with Spug.  Those sentences sound very strange to me. I'm from the Philadelphia area.


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## honeypie

FromPA said:


> I agree with Spug.  Those sentences sound very strange to me. I'm from the Philadelphia area.



Haha, wow I guess I've been out of the country for too long!


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## Alphonso2728

I've heard I wish I was taller, is this wrong? should it be I wish I would be taller?


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## KeepinOn

I agree that the sentences should technically use past unreal conditional:
1. I wish you'd stayed...not 2. I wish you stayed
1. I wished they'd come to the party...not 2. I wish they came to the party

But, I do agree with honeypie that a lot of people don't often use option #1 (past unreal conditional). 

You know what I hear a lot instead? The following:
3. I wish you would've stayed
3. I wish they would've come to the party

Do other people hear that construction in #3 as well? It's not prescriptively correct according to "standard" grammar, but people do use these other versions. I definitely try to be open minded about how language is actually used, but this is one that I have a hard time accepting.


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## KeepinOn

Alphonso2728, yes, I hear people say things like "I wish I was taller" too, in fact, I hear that construction a lot. You're right, it's not correct (according to "standard" grammar rules). The correct version is "I wish I *were* taller." "Wish" implies that the speaker wants reality to be different than it is, so the grammatical form is present unreal conditional which is the past tense form, and for the verb "to be" it's "were.'


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## ribran

KeepinOn said:


> You know what I hear a lot instead? The following:
> 3. I wish you would've stayed
> 3. I wish they would've come to the party
> 
> Do other people hear that construction in #3 as well? It's not prescriptively correct according to "standard" grammar, but people do use these other versions. I definitely try to be open minded about how language is actually used, but this is one that I have a hard time accepting.



This, I would say, is the more common of the two constructions in my neck of the woods. 

Of course, with the second sentence, I would have to keep my fingers crossed that the speaker would use _come_ instead of _came_.


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## macame

According to my grammar book:

STRUCTURES AFTER WISH:
1. Use *wish + past simple* to talk about things you would like to be different in the present/future (but which are impossible or unlikely).
_I wish I was taller!_
2. Use *wish + person/thing + would/wouldn't* to talk about things we want to happen, or stop happening because they annoy us.
You can't use would for a wish about yourself, e.g. NOT: _I wish I would.._.
_I wish the bus would come. I'm freezing._
_I wish you wouldn't leave your shoes there. I almost fell over them._
3. Use *wish + past perfect* to talk about things that happened or didn't happen in the past and which you now regret.
_I wish you had told me the truth._
_I wish I hadn't bought those shoes._


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## ribran

macame said:


> According to my grammar book:
> 
> STRUCTURES AFTER WISH:
> 1. Use *wish + past simple* to talk about things you would like to be different in the present/future (but which are impossible or unlikely).
> _I wish I was I would use were here, but I think was is more accepted in British English. taller!_
> 2. Use *wish + person/thing + would/wouldn't* to talk about things we want to happen, or stop happening because they annoy us.
> *You can't use would for a wish about yourself, e.g. NOT: I wish I would...* I don't agree with this, but it's generally true.
> _I wish the bus would come. I'm freezing._
> _I wish you wouldn't leave your shoes there. I almost fell over them._
> 3. Use *wish + past perfect* to talk about things that happened or didn't happen in the past and which you now regret.
> _I wish you had told me the truth._
> _I wish I hadn't bought those shoes._


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## KeepinOn

Macame, that interesting your grammar provides the model sentence "I wish I was taller" Does it also explain it and point out that "I wish I were taller" is still often considered the more acceptable form?


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## Lis48

_*"You can't use would for a wish about yourself, e.g. NOT: I wish I would...* I don't agree with this."_

Technically the rule is correct that you can´t make a wish about yourself.
In practice, people do say "I wish I would" just as they say "I don´t know nothing." 
It just doesn´t sound very educated, but it is obviously a colloquial use.
Just never use it in an exam!

I do agree though that "I wish I were taller" is perfectly acceptable.


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## js65

honeypie said:


> Haha, wow I guess I've been out of the country for too long!



to me those sentences sound fine, maybe not grammatically correct but they sound ok.


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## ribran

Lis48 said:


> Technically the rule is correct that you can´t make a wish about yourself.



Anyone who has battled depression can tell you that this is untrue.


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## KeepinOn

I think "I wish I were taller" isn't just acceptable, but more a ceptable, but I suppose I'm being prescriptivist. Definitely in such a context "were" is the most acceptable in formal writing/formal spoken contexts.

I'm not sure about using wish about onese, I guess it works.maybe, "I wish I would magically get thinner" I think a context like that makes sense where the speaker believes he/she has no control over the outcome.

On the other hand, I think u could say, "I wish he would write the report so I don't have to"....would it sound natural to say, "I wish I would write the report". That seems very iffy to me, possible, but i think unlikely., and probably digficult to process

I think I'd agree that it would be a good rule of thumb for learners not to use that construction in first person


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## KeepinOn

ribran said:


> Anyone who has battled depression can tell you that this is untrue.



Ribran, I think I see what you're saying. Is it like what I wrote in my post above that making a wish about oneself may happen (and be processable)  when people talk about something over which they have no control. 

So in the case of an individual with an illness, like someone grappling with depression, a person might say, "I wish I would just feel better" something like that. See what I'm saying? Whaddya think?

I think the use of grammatical constructions to make wishes about others and about oneself raise interesting philosophical questions. I wish I could (not _would_ ) get into now, but I haven't had a cup of coffee yet haha (cop out!). _Do_ I wish I _would_ get into it now? Wow hehe


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## KeepinOn

Alphonso2728 said:


> Hi everyone I'd like to know if the sentences below are alright...
> 
> I wish it would rain
> I wish it rained
> 
> -I think I've heard both... but I don't know if it depends on the context
> -another case would be:
> 
> I wish you were...
> I wish you would be...
> 
> thanks!



So now you have an *excellent* answer to your original question, Alphonso! From *Macame* who wrote earlier...

1. Use wish + past simple to talk about things you would like to be different in the present/future (but which are impossible or unlikely).

I wish it *rained* (here). (_You're saying that it does not rain in this location, but you want that reality to be different. Someone might say this in a desert, for example. I think it would sound more natural to add "here." The verb is in past tense form, but the meaning is not past tense._

2. Use wish + person/thing + would/wouldn't to talk about things we want to happen, or stop happening because they annoy us.

_I wish it would rain_


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## ribran

KeepinOn said:


> So in the case of an individual with an illness, like someone grappling with depression, a person might say, "I wish I would just feel better" something like that. See what I'm saying? Whaddya think?



Hi KeepinOn,

That's one possibility, though I was actually thinking more about the total loss of motivation that is often a symptom of depression. The depressed are often aware of the measures they need to take to improve their lives, but the anxiety they experience can be paralyzing, leading them to honestly believe that the outcome of their situation is completely beyond their control. They can come to feel disconnected from their own bodies, resulting in a situation in which the sentence, "I wish I would do this" has, in effect, two distinct subjects.


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## Lis48

ribran said:


> Anyone who has battled depression can tell you that this is untrue.


I think it is obvious that you can wish for something for yourself as in for example; I wish I were taller. 
I was referring of course to the use of "would" in wishes for yourself, as in for example; I wish I would win the lottery.


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## el_ochito

Honeypie, I think your issue may be that you're not "hearing" the contracted form of had in regular speech and that's why you're convinced that it's common to leave it out.

For example, "I wish he'd decided to come sooner" sounds like "I wish he decided to come sooner" if you're not especially careful in your pronunciation.


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## macame

KeepinOn said:


> Macame, that interesting your grammar provides the model sentence "I wish I was taller" Does it also explain it and point out that "I wish I were taller" is still often considered the more acceptable form?


 In this book, New English File (Oxford University Press), it isn't mentioned. Then I looked it up in another book, face2face (Cambridge University Press), and it's pointed out that you can say _I wish I/he/she/it was... _or_ I wish I/he/she/it were..._: _I wish I *was/were* more organised._ But they say nothing about which one is more acceptable.
They also point out that you do not often say _I wish I would... ._e.g. _I wish I didn't smoke, _not _I wish I wouldn't smoke_.


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