It seems that they are all correct.....

[Cicily21]

Dear All,

Which one should we choose?

The chairman _____ that the meeting should be put off.
(1)said
(2)hoped
(3)wished
(4)insisted

I consider that "insisted" should be the best choice, but why we cannot use the others?

Thanks a lot for your kind assistance. 8)

Best Regards,
Cicily

[Casiopea]

Dear All,

Which one should we choose?

The chairman _____ that the meeting should be put off.
(1)said
(2)hoped
(3)wished
(4)insisted

I consider "insisted" the best choice, but why can't we use the others?

Thanks a lot for your kind assistance. 8)

You're correct. :D

(1) it's a matter of reported speech
(2) hoped and should are not compatible. Try, hoped and would.
(3) wished and should are not compatible Try, wished and would.

All the best, :D

[Cicily21]

You're correct. :D

(1) it's a matter of reported speech
(2) hoped and should are not compatible. Try, hoped and would.
(3) wished and should are not compatible Try, wished and would.

All the best, :D[/quote]

Thanks a lot!!

Best Regards,
Cicily

[Wai_Wai]

I would like to know why (4) insisted is correct.

I think (1) and (4) can be correct depending on situations. Different words will change the menaing of the sentence.


(1)
It is just a matter of preference/context

(2) & (3)
It should be ok to use "hope/wish" with "should" grammatically. But it may be difficult to use them together in terms of meaning.

(3)
The word "wished (in past tense)" is used when you have a desire but it is unlikely to relise it. However in a reported speech, using this word in past tense may not mean that. It may simply means a hope.

(4)
It is just a matter of preference/context

[Casiopea]

The chairman _____ that the meeting should be put off.
(1)said
(2)hoped
(3)wished
(4)insisted

Well, with (4) we can omit 'should':

The chairman insisted that the meeting be put off. :D

We can't do the same with choices (1), (2), (3). The result is ungrammatical:

The chairman said that the meeting be put off. :(
The chairman hoped that the meeting be put off. :(
The chairman wished that the meeting be put off. :(

All the best, :D