Practical Grammar 1 &2
REVISION
For more practice tasks go to the Practice Makes Perfect site.
UNREAL TIME – WISHES
Present / future time
These are wishes where you want to change a present/future state. These wishes use a paste tense form to express a feeling about the present (like a second conditional sentence).
I wish I had a motorbike. (I don't have one now.)
I wish you weren't leaving. (You are leaving.)
I wish I knew the answer. (I don't know the answer.)
I wish I was going on holiday with you next week. (I am not going.)
I wish I could get a better job.
Past time
The verb form after wish is one stage further back in the past. These are wishes referring to a past event, which cannot be changed. Wishes about the past use a past perfect in the same way as a third conditional sentence.
I wish I hadn't eaten so much.
I wish I had brought an umbrella with me. (If I had brought an umbrella with me, it would have been better.)
I wish we had left earlier.
This use of wish is common after if only to express regrets.
Would
Would is used when the speaker wants somebody or something else to change,. It is often used to describe an annoying habit. This use with would is often used to describe an annoying habit.
I wish he would change his mind and marry Jane.
I wish it would stop raining.
I wish you wouldn't make such a mess.
Hope
Wishes about simple future events are expressed with hope. The verb hope is usually followed by a present tense with a future meaning, especially in the first person.
I hope it doesn't (won't) rain tomorrow.
I hope you (will) have a lovely time in Portugal (on your holiday next week).
In negative sentences, the negation is usually put with the verb that follows hope. Compare:
I don't think/suppose/expect/believe/imagine she'll come.
BUT:
I hope she she won't come.
I hope she doesn't dislike the flowers.
For more on wishful thinking see the presentation and the links below.
For practice tasks, go to the Practice Makes Perfect page.
REPORTED SPEECH
Below you can find some revision presentations on Reported Speech (level B1/B2, but good for revision purposes). Practice tasks are available on the Practice Makes Perfect page.