This is Everyday Grammar. I'm Lucija.
And I'm Kaveh. Lucija, do you remember our last episode on WISHES about the future?
Yeah, what about it? Well, this episode is about WISHES in the present and the past.
Oh, I wish that I had prepared more. The verb WISH has many uses, but the main use is when the speaker wants reality to be different.
When you are talking about regrets about the past, you can use WISH with the past perfect. Wish+(That)+Past perfect.
You can leave out the word THAT if you want to. I wish (that) I had studied harder at school. (I didn't study hard at school. Now I am sorry about that. )
I wish (that) Sam had come with me on the trip. (I went on the trip. Now I regret that Sam didn't come with me. ) I wish you hadn't told me how the film ends. (You told me how the film ends. I would be happier if you hadn't. )
To use WISH about the present, you can use the simple past. I wish I knew a second language.
I wish I lived in Paris. I wish it wasn't so cold.
But before we go, it's important to remember one thing. From all the many uses of wish, in formal speaking and writing, you use the subjunctive form WERE. . . not WAS after WISH.
