[Grammar] I wished I opened the window/I wished I had opened the window

[englishhobby]

What's the difference in use between I wished I did it and I wished I had done it?

Is it possible to say "I wished I opened the window" in some situation? What would that mean? How would it be diferent from "I wished I had opened the window"?
It looks like you can't use some verbs in the past simple tense after wish - it would make no sense. Does it make sense with I wished I opened the window?

 

[emsr2d2]

The difference is "I wished I opened the window" is not grammatical.

I wish I had opened the window. :tick:
I wished I had opened the window. :tick:

 

[jutfrank]

What's the difference in use between I wish I did it and I wish I had done it?

Let me improve your question: Please explain the difference in use between:

1. wish + past
2. wish + past perfect

1. is to talk about desired present states or desired present habits
2. is to talk about a desired past state or a desired past event

Is it possible to say "I wished I opened the window" in some situation? What would that mean?

It would be extremely unlikely. It would mean that you desire a habit of opening the window on a regular basis. Maybe you and your friend have a job where you have to do a task each day. His job is to open the window and your job is to turn on the lights. You have to do this task every day. You feel somewhat envious of your friend because you consider that he has the better job and you imagine life would be better if the roles were reversed. You say I wish I opened the window [and he turned on the lights].

How would it be diferent from "I wished I had opened the window"?

(First, say wish, not wished.) The meaning would be different. If you say I wish I'd opened the window, you are talking about a single action in the past that you did not do. There was one occasion, one opportunity to open the window but you did not do it. You probably now regret your lack of action. This is quite a likely situation to happen.

 

[englishhobby]

It would be extremely unlikely. It would mean that you desire a habit of opening the window on a regular basis. Maybe you and your friend have a job where you have to do a task each day. His job is to open the window and your job is to turn on the lights. You have to do this task every day. You feel somewhat envious of your friend because you consider that he has the better job and you imagine life would be better if the roles were reversed. You say I wish I opened the window [and he turned on the lights].

This unrealistic example of yours really helped in understanding the structure better, thank you.

 

[englishhobby]

What's the difference in use between I wished I did it and I wished I had done it?

(First, say wish, not wished.) The meaning would be different. If you say I wish I'd opened the window, you are talking about a single action in the past that you did not do. There was one occasion, one opportunity to open the window but you did not do it. You probably now regret your lack of action. This is quite a likely situation to happen.

Thank you, but it's quite clear with just wish. I am struggling with I wishED I had typo (opened a window). Is it possible to use this sentence in some, even unrealistic, conteхt? (I've noticed that odd contexts which native speakers give when trying to explain the meaning of the structure are really helpful to me.)

 

[jutfrank]

Thank you, but it's quite clear with just wish. I am struggling with I wishED I had typo (opened a window). Is it possible to use this sentence in some, even unrealistic, conteхt? (I've noticed that odd contexts which native speakers give when trying to explain the meaning of the structure are really helpful to me.)

The logic is exactly the same whether you use wish or wished. When you say I wish, you are talking about a present desire. So if you say I wish I had opened the window, the action you are referring to is a past event but the regret/desire is present. Therefore, you can logically use the past form wished with both past simple and past perfect, to express that the desiring was past. This is fairly likely with a single event (the past perfect form) but is extremely unlikely with the habitual form.

I anticipate other members might jump in and say this is not correct, but although I agree that it would be an unlikely situation and that even if such a situation did arise, you would probably find a different way to express the thought, it is, however, theoretically logical.

For a very unrealistic example of I wished I opened the window, use the scenario from post #3 but simply backshift the desire. One way to do this might be with a narrative like this:

As I dutifully crossed the dark room to turn on the lights as I did every morning, I saw John the glee on John's face as he slowly rolled up the blind and reached up his hand to unscrew the window lock, the morning sun bathing him in an almost holy light. It was at that moment that I wished that I was the one who opened the window.