Why don't we say: I wish I would have more friends.

[Raymott]

Enough, guys.
The FACT is, Americans do say "I wish I would have [past participle]" ...

So, what do you say in the case where "I wish I would have had" is the appropriate tense (in a non-American sense)?

A: "I wish they would have paid me more if I'd received the promotion."
(A is referring to a job in which they would not have him more if he had received the promotion. He is not saying that he wishes they had paid him more, because he never got the promotion. But he would like to have worked for a company that paid people more when they were promoted.)

B: "I wish my wife would have loved me more if I'd been more attentive to her needs. But now I realise that she was (would have been) incapable of even that."
B is not saying that he wished his wife had loved him more. He is saying that he wished she would have loved him more under the condition mentioned.

Is this distinction possible in American?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Neither of those work for me.

 

[Raymott]

Neither of those work for me.

Do you mean you can't understand the grammar? Or are you saying that it's impossible for Americans to conceive of wishing something would have happened if circumstances had been different?

What about hoping?
Person A: "I certainly hope that your mother would have taken you to the doctor if you were sick!"
Person B: "I like to think that my mother would have taken me to the doctor if I was sick. But I really doubt it! I wish that she would have done things like that, but she didn't care much for me."

Person B is not saying, "I wish she had done things like that." No doubt he also thinks this, but that's not what he's saying.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Why would someone wish the pay scale would have been higher for a promotion he did not get. These are artificially created sentences and they make no sense to me. It is possible for Americans to reject sentences that make no sense. How about Australians?

 

[Raymott]

Why would someone wish the pay scale would have been higher for a promotion he did not get.
That was just an example - perhaps not the best. You could have asked about the one about the wife. The ex-husband wishes it were so because even though it may have been his fault, he wishes that his wife would have loved him more if he had been more attentive. The reason he wishes this could be many - it would mean that the woman he married wasn't so bad after all; it would allow him to have faith in people in general, etc.

These are artificially created sentences and they make no sense to me. It is possible for Americans to reject sentences that make no sense. How about Australians?

Yes, you've already admitted that you don't understand them, but you haven't answered the questions I asked.
I'd still be interested in hearing the opinions of Americans that do understand them.
Artificially-created sentences? As opposed to what?
I'm still interested in whether anyone (not just Americans) find it possible to conceive of wishing something would have happened if circumstances had been different? Or am I the only one?

PS: Do you mean you can't understand the sentences with 'hoping' either?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Your artificial questions do not support any point. The wife question was no better. Building hypotheticals on hypotheticals is not natural English for me. And your sarcasm is not appreciated. I will leave this here before it gets more ugly. Good luck.

 

[Raymott]

Sorry, Mike, there was certainly no sarcasm intended anywhere. I can't even imagine which bit you think is sarcastic.

 

[5jj]

"I wish they would have paid me more if I'd received the promotion."


I think the chances of my ever wishing to construct a sentence like that are pretty slim. I admit the possibility of the one below, but doubt that I'd ever say it:

If they would have paid me more (=if they had been prepared to pay me more), I would have accepted the job.

 

[Heidi L]

"Would" is a conditional. There is no conditional in "I wish I had more friends", and introducing "would" needs explaining. It's hard to think of an example of a conditional with those exact words, but it means "I wish I would have more friends - if some condition prevailed."

Is "I wish I would have more friends, especially a girl friend who can be my wife someday! My boss is always giving me so much work, most of the time, it's already over midnight when I get home. Seems like I have to quit first." fine?

 

[BobK]

But that's forcing the American sense. Anyway, shouldn't it be spelt John :-?

(The contexts in which one might use the term 'accept a John' don't belong in a family forum; suffice it to say that, coincidentally, my background radio involves a discussion about sex work....)

b

 

[5jj]

I have corrected my 'jon' typo.

 

[BobK]

Apologies for an irresponsible flight of whimsy. My only defence is that, after three pages, no language learner is going to expect anyone to say anything both new and of value.

b

 

[5jj]

Is "I wish I would have more friends, especially a girl friend who can be my wife someday! My boss is always giving me so much work, most of the time, it's already over midnight when I get home. Seems like I have to quit first." fine?

NO

 

[emsr2d2]

I am going to bite the bullet on this. We have had four pages of native speakers saying "No, we do not say 'I wish I would have more friends' or variations thereof" and yet the OP continues to ask the same question, seemingly thinking that changing the rest of the sentence will magically make that original phrase acceptable.

Thread closed.