I wish you [to achieve]/[achieved]/[would/could achieve] all your goals in life!

[Marika33]

Which of these would work as a wish for my best friend on her birthday?

1. I wish you to achieve all your goals in life!
2. I wish you achived all your goals in life!
3. I wish you would achieve all your goals in life!
4. I wish you could achieve all your goals in life!

 

[jutfrank]

1 is ungrammatical, since the structure 'wish somebody to do something' is not a grammatical structure.

2, 3 and 4 are grammatical but they don't mean what I think you think they mean. They don't really make much sense (to differing degrees).

Please tell us what you're trying to say and we'll tell you how to say it. Until you do that, we can only guess what you mean. My best guess is that you're not talking about a wish at all but rather about a hope: I hope you achieve all your goals in life.

Regarding the use of the verb 'wish', there are several ways to use it. If you intend to bestow a blessing on the listener, you can use 'wish + somebody + noun phrase':

We wish you a merry Christmas.
I wish you a happy and healthy life.
She wished me good luck in my new job.

 

[Marika33]

Please tell us what you're trying to say and we'll tell you how to say it. Until you do that, we can only guess what you mean. My best guess is that you're not talking about a wish at all but rather about a hope: I hope you achieve all your goals in life.

I really don't see what could possibly be unclear about it.

Somebody wishes my friend a happy and healthy life, somebody wishes her good luck in her new job, etc. etc.
My wish for her is that she will(would?) achieve all her dreams/life goals.

Imagine you want your son to go to a prestigious university. You hope that he will go to a prestigious university.
Then, it becomes your wish, you wish it.

 

[jutfrank]

Try these:

I wish you success in everything you do.
May you achieve all your goals in life.

You could also say:

I wish for you to achieve all your goals in life.
My wish is for you to achieve all your goals in life.

 

[Marika33]

I wish for you to achieve all your goals in life.

All it took to make this idea grammatical was this marvelous preposition "for"?!

 

[jutfrank]

Yes. The addition of the marvellous preposition makes for a different grammatical structure, as well as expresses the intended meaning.

The structure/pattern is: 'wish for something to happen'

 

[Marika33]

Yes. The addition of the marvellous preposition makes for a different grammatical structure, as well as expresses the intended meaning.

The structure/pattern is: 'wish for something to happen'

Thank you very much! Looks like my problem has been successfully solved!

 

[jutfrank]

I'm not fully convinced but if you say so, I'll take your word for it.

 

[Marika33]

Looks like my problem has been successfully solved!

I'm not fully convinced

It scared me a little bit.

Now we'll find it out.
Can I say this to my best friend on her birthday, "I wish for you to achieve all your goals in life"?

 

[jutfrank]

Yes. I already told you that in post #4.

That's not to say though that that's the best thing you could say for that situation. In fact, I don't think it is.

 

[Marika33]

That's not to say though that that's the best thing you could say for that situation. In fact, I don't think it is.

Why?


If I used a noun instead, would that be better?

I wish for you to achieve all your goals in life.
--->
I wish you the fulfillment of all your life goals.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, using a noun phrase is better. E.g.:

I wish you success in everything you do.

 

[Piscean]

Now I feel like I'm not just talking to a person speaking a foreign language, but to an alien. (I sincerely apologize if it sounds rude)

It does.

 

[Marika33]

It does.

Then I sincerely apologize to Jutfrank for saying that.

 

[jutfrank]

No problem, @Marika33.