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 PRACTICE ON POINTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

• Conditionals
• Cond Diagnostic
• Pres-Future Real
• Pres-Past Real
• Present Unreal
• Past Unreal
• Past Unreal 2
• Should/Could have
• Mixed Tenses
• Implied Conditions
• Wishes
• Wish Agreement
• If / Unless
• If / Whether
• Omitting If
• If / In case
• Related Pages

Wish Agreement

Tense agreement in conditional statements

 

 

 

 

My Father's Wish

My father wished he could have finished high school when he was young, but he had to go to work to support his family instead.  When I was born, he wished that I would not only finish high school but also go to college. He worked hard to send me to college. I managed to graduate with honors.  Now, I have a child and I wish that he will go to college.  I encourage him to work hard.  I wish he would understand how hard his grandfather and father have worked to give him a good life. He doesn't comprehend it right now, but I hope he will when he is older.

 

 

Hypothetical Wish – Past Agreement

A PAST WISH ABOUT AN EARLIER EVENT	A PAST WISH ABOUT AN PAST EVENT	A PAST WISH ABOUT A FUTURE EVENT
WISHED + PAST PERFECT	Use "had gone" or "would go".	WISHED WOULD + VERB   ( Action may or may not happen.)
My father wished he had gone to college. (I regret he didn't.)	My father wished that I went to college	My father wished that I would go to graduate school.

 

 

 

Hypothetical Wish – Present Agreement

A PRESENT WISH ABOUT AN EARLIER EVENT	A PRESENT WISH ABOUT A PRESENT EVENT	A PRESENT WISH ABOUT A FUTURE EVENT
WISH + PAST PERFECT	WISH + PAST	WOULD + VERB  ( Action may or may not happen.)
I wish father had understood my appreciation.(I regret he didn't.)	I wish my son understood hIs grandfather's efforts. (He doesn't.)	I wish my son would understand the importance of hard work.

 

 

A Wish (that may become true)

A PAST WISH ABOUT A FUTURE EVENT	A PRESENT WISH ABOUT A FUTURE EVENT
WISHED TO +VERB	WISH TO +VERB  cannot use an indirect object
My father wished to go to college. (Maybe he did.)	I wish to go to graduate school. (Maybe I will.)

 

 

Wishes Followed by a That-Clause or an Infinitive Phrase

THAT-CLAUSES	INFINITIVE
These words introduce a wish with a that-clause and will or would.	These words introduce a wish with an infinitive phrase.
My mother hopes (that) I will be an engineer.	My father wished me to become an engineer.
My mother hoped (that) I would be an engineer.	My grandfather wanted me to be happy.
My grandfather prays (that) I will be happy.	My grandfather would like me to be happy.

 

 

 

Common Mistake

ERROR	FIX
I wish  I can go to graduate school.	I wish  to go to graduate school. (a real possibility) I hope I can go to graduate school.
I wish  my son to go to graduate school.	I wish  my son would go to graduate school. (He might.) I want my son to go to graduate school. (My will against his.)
I wish I was a college graduate.  (informal; not incorrect)	I wish I were a college graduate.  (formal English)

 

 

 

 

 

Practice

Graduating

 

 

1. Select the verb that best completes the sentence.
2. Compare your response to the answer by clicking the check button.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	ANSWER
1.	My path through college wasn't easy or direct. My father and I had disagreements about my future. When I started to apply to colleges, my father wished that I – would study would have studied engineering .
2.	However, I wished – I would study to study Marketing in Business School.
3.	When I applied to schools, I wished that I – could go could have gone to a school near my home.
4.	However, I was only accepted into Business School in another state. I wished – to attend I could attend I could have attended a nearby college, but that wasn't possible.
5.	I wished – to graduate could have graduated graduate early, so I took extra classes.
6.	Now that I have graduated, I wish that I – hadn't been weren't in such a hurry.
7.	I wish - that I was that I were to be still in Business School. (I'm not.)
8.	I wish  – to study could study a lot more about International Business.
9.	I wish I – can continue could continue could have continue my studies. (hypothetical)
10.	I wish – I would learn to learn about global markets.