He wishes/ he wished

[heidita]

I was thinking about the hypothetical wish form.

I wish I were rich, I wish I had gone to the restaurant last night, I wish I hadn't said that.

Now, we always use "wish", right? Never: I wished I had...?

Why, however, is it then possible to say :

he wished he had been there.

This is the exercise I was looking at.

http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/subjunctive-mood-exercise-four

Number 4 for example.

I mean, the same sentence wish "I", i would have chosen:

I wish they hadn't left so fast.

:-?

 

[charliedeut]

IMO, it is posible to use "I wished" if you are speaking now about you feelings in the past. For instance, if your friends came back last week from a trip to China, you could tell them then "I wish I had gone too". But if you are telling me today about that conversation with them, I find it OK to say "My, how I wished I could have gone too".

 

[5jj]

Now, we always use "wish", right? Never: I wished I had...?

We use the present tense for a present wish, and the past tense for a past wish.

Your last three lines are a little confusing. Could you try to make it clear which question you are talking about and what the problem is, please?

 

[heidita]

We use the present tense for a present wish, and the past tense for a past wish.

hmmm,

I wish I could go to London. (future meaning)

I wish I had gone to London (past meaning, didn't happen)

So I don't understand your answer :-?

Your last three lines are a little confusing. Could you try to make it clear which question you are talking about and what the problem is, please?

sorry, I meant:

he wished he had been there. (past, didn't happen)

In my opinion this is odd...or at least I don't understand.

We say: I wish I had been there. (past, didn't happen)

Why not: he wishes he had been there?

"My, how I wished I could have gone too".

This is what our friend said above. Why not" I wish I had been able to go to"

In my opinion this would mean the same...and I still don't see why "he wished" is correct.

I do see the usage of indirect speech, hadn't even thought of that.

Peter is so silly, he wishes he were a woman.
Mary said that Peter was really silly. he wished he were a woman.

 

[Roman55]

hmmm,

I wish I could go to London. (future meaning)

I wish I had gone to London (past meaning, didn't happen)

So I don't understand your answer :-?

I am not a teacher.

The answer meant that the wishing is taking place now; whether it's about something past, present, or future makes no difference.

 

[5jj]

Let's go back a step.

2 January, 2014: Peter's brother and sister went to London. Peter did not go, because he had to look after his cat, which was ill.

9 January, 2014: Peter spoke to his friend Jana:

J: I hear your brother and sister went to London last week.
P: Yes. I wish I could have gone with them, but I couldn't leave my sick cat.

10 January, 2014: Peter bumps into Florinda, a former girlfriend, in the street. They fall instantly in love again and decide to spend the rest of their lives together. In between smooching sessions, they have a brief conversation:

F: If you had gone to London with your brother and sister, we would not have met.
P: I know. Yesterday, I wished I could have gone with them. Now I am so happy that I didn't. Another?

 

[heidita]

Thanks everybody for your answers

 

[Rover_KE]

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