Wish Clauses

We use wish when we want reality to be different from how it is. The verb form after wish tells us what we want to be different: a different present situation, a change in someone's behaviour, a different ability or possibility, or a different past.

Look at these examples:

I don't have enough money. → I wish I had more money.
I can't speak Japanese. → I wish I could speak Japanese.
My brother never helps me. → I wish he would help me more.
I didn't study enough. → I wish I had studied more.

Present wishes

When we want the present situation to be different, we normally use:
→ wish + past simple

I wish I had more free time.
She wishes she lived closer to school.
We wish we knew the answer.

The past simple here does not refer to the past. It shows that the present reality is different from what we want.

Careful: Were is traditionally used for hypothetical wishes, especially in careful or formal English:

I wish I were taller.
I wish she were here.

In informal English, was is also common with I, he, she and it, but were is the standard form to teach for hypothetical wishes.

If we want a present situation or someone's behaviour to change (often while expressing annoyance or impatience), we use:
→ wish + would

I wish you would stop shouting.
I wish my neighbours would keep it down.
I wish the bus would come.

We can also use wish + could when we want a different ability or possibility:

I wish I could speak Japanese.
She wishes she could drive.
We wish we could stay longer.

Past wishes

When we regret something in the past and imagine that it had happened differently, we use:
→ wish + past perfect

I didn't study enough. → I wish I had studied more.
She said something rude. → She wishes she hadn't said it.
We left too late. → We wish we had left earlier.

The past cannot be changed, so we are imagining a different past.

When the verb is have, the past perfect form is had had:

I wish I had had more time yesterday.

Compare the two time references:

I don't have enough money. → I wish I had more money. = present
I didn't have enough money yesterday. → I wish I had had more money. = past

Quick reference
The form after wish depends on what we want to be different:

we want to change the present:
- wish + past simple
  I wish I had more time.
- wish + would when we want to change present situations or behaviour
  I wish you would listen.
- wish + could when we wish for a different ability or possibility.
  I wish I could stay longer.
we regret the past and imagine it differently:
- wish + past perfect
  I wish I had studied more.