Grammar help please?

Question

Hi,Could you please advise if I am correct in these sentences?I wish that I didn't say / hadn't said that last night. (Both words are correct?)I hope that it you were / had here last night. (You wasn't here) (Both words are correct?)I hope and wish that it will be a good day tomorrow. (Future)Cheers

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

John AkiI wish that I didn't say / hadn't said that last night. (Both words are correct?)

Both are correct, but "hadn't said" is much preferred after "wish".

John AkiI hope that it you? were ~~/ had~~ here last night. (You ~~wasn't~~ weren't here) (Both words are correct? No. )

that it you had here? What?!!!

We usually hope about the future, but hoping about the past is not impossible.

I hope that you were here last night to take care of the kids while I was away.

More commonly:

I hope you'll be here tomorrow night to enjoy our party.

John AkiI hope and wish that it will be a good day tomorrow.

It's unusual to link 'hope' and 'wish', but as you have it here, the grammar follows the verb 'hope'. 'wish' does not work well in this context.

I hope that it will be a good day tomorrow.
I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow.
I hope things will go smoothly at work tomorrow.

The combination of 'wish' and 'will' is not used except by the occasional mistake of some people. It sounds strange to our ears.

'wish' is used for present situations that we want to be different from what they really are, or for past situations that we would have wanted to be different from what they were.

1) I wish that the weather [were/was] warmer today.
(The weather is not very warm today.)
2) I wish that Bob would park his car in the assigned space.
(Bob has been parking his car wherever he wants, and not obeying the rules.)
3) I wish that Fran had seen that program on TV last week.
(Fran did not see that program, but she should have seen it because she would have liked it.)

Note on example 1): We often change 'was' to 'were' after 'wish'.
On example 2): We use 'would' when we don't like an action that keeps happening, and we want it to change.
On example 3): We use 'had' and the past participle when we regret that an action happened or didn't happen, but there is nothing we can do about it anymore.

CJ

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