Chapter 1 Common Grammar Mistakes
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wish-clauses
Mrs. B has heard some "wish-clause" mistakes this week.
Here's the easy part.
If you begin a sentence with "I wish" or anyone else wishes, use a
past tense verb.
v
This time of the year I wish I LIVED farther south.
v
She wishes she WORKED in a bigger market.
Now, this is the harder part.
If you use a form of the verb "to be" after wish, you must use "were"
instead of "was."
v
I wish I WERE going to The Bahamas on vacation.
v
She wishes she WERE working weeknights instead of
weekends.
The more you use "were," the more it will sound right to you.
And here's the hardest part and the part Mrs. B hears most often
misused.
To talk about past time with a "wish-clause," put the verb in the past
perfect tense.
In other words, use "had," not "would have."
v
I wish I HAD gone to The Bahamas.
(not: I wish I "would have gone" to The Bahamas.)
v
She wishes she HAD worked weeknights instead of weekends.
(not: She wishes she "would have worked" weeknights rather than
weekends.)
Even though The Bahamas may be warmer than where you are,
working weekends, your words can cozy up things.
"One kind word can warm three winter months."
--Japanese proverb
