English Conversation Tips | Wish & Hope

Hello and welcome everyone, this is Minoo at  Anglo-Link.

Is the difference between 'hope' and 'wish' clear to you?

Do you hope to know the difference by the end of this lesson?

Do you wish I would stop asking so many questions?

Great!

Then let's get on with the lesson.

But, make sure you  watch the lesson till the end to see how these two verbs are used in a typical conversation.

Okay! Hope and wish.

We use both verbs when we want something to happen.

If this thing is possible and likely, we use 'hope'.

For example, speaking to your school friend you will say:

It's my birthday next week. I hope you're free and can come to my party.

So, if this thing that we want to happen is impossible or unlikely, we use 'wish'.

For example, if you're speaking to your sister who is abroad at the moment we would say:

It's my birthday next week. I wish you were here and could come to my party.

Okay! Now let's have a look at what tenses we use after 'hope'.

If we're talking about a future situation, the best tense to use actually is the Present Simple.

For example, as we said: I hope you are free and can come to my party.

But, you can also use the Future Simple if you want. You can say: I hope you will be free and will be able to come to my party.

You can use 'that' to connect 'hope' to the next sentence, but we often drop 'that'.

Now, if the situation you're talking about is in the present  or in the past, you can use any appropriate tense.

For example, you can say:

I hope you know the answer now.

I hope you're listening carefully now.

I hope she hasn't forgotten.

I hope he got the job last week.

I hope he wasn't lying to us when he said that.

So, you can use any tense depending on the present or past situation.

Now,  if you're expressing a hope for a past situation that didn't happen, you should use 'would'.

For example: I hoped he would call me, but he didn't.

Or: She was hoping they could help her, but they didn't or they couldn't.

We had hoped things would improve, but they didn't.

So, that's all for 'hope'. Let's look at the tenses we use after 'wish'.

Again, let's say it's a present or future situation.

Remember we said: I wish you were here and could come to my party next week.

Now, when we look at this sentence and see 'were' and 'could', we think this is the Past Simple tense.

Well actually, it isn't. Actually, it is the Past Subjunctive.

It's the same form that we use in Conditional 2 sentences.

Now, you can see that this is the Past Subjunctive better if we change the pronoun.

For example, if you're speaking to your friend about your sister.

We would  say:

My sister is abroad and won't be back next week.

I wish she were here and could come to my party.

Or: I wish she hadn't gone abroad.

Now, you can see that the tense is not Past Simple,  but the Past Subjunctive.

Having said that, don't be surprised if you don't hear the Subjunctive.

Most native speakers just use the Simple tense.

So, in everyday spoken English, it's much more common to hear:

I wish my sister was here.

Using the Past Simple tense, not the Subjunctive.

Now, one other tense that is quite common with 'wish' is 'would'.

And you would use this in a present situation  that's annoying you, and you want it to stop.

For example, someone keeps calling you, and you want them to stop.

You would say: I wish he would stop calling me.

Or someone is eating next to you very noisily and this is annoying you. You would say:

I wish you wouldn't eat like that.

We can also use the infinitive with 'hope' and 'wish'.

With 'hope' it's quite straightforward. If you have the same pronoun, for example: I hope I will get a promotion.

You can just simply go to the infinitive:

I hope to get a promotion.

Okay, but be careful with using 'wish' with the infinitive.

So, for example, if the context is you're wishing you were younger:

I wish I were younger.

If you suddenly say: I wish to  be younger.

The meaning has changed from I wish, it's an impossible dream to I want.

For example, you can say:

I want to impress my boss. I wish to impress my boss.

I want to show off my skills. I wish to show off my skills.

Because these are possible things. They are not unlikely.

But, for a context like:

I wish I were younger. I wish this were different.

You can't use 'to' without changing the meaning.

Right! That's all for the tenses and forms that we use with 'hope' and 'wish'.

Let's look at some common expressions with 'wish'.

These are:

I wish you a pleasant trip.

I wish you a lovely day.

I wish you a Happy New Year.

I wish you all the best with your new job.

I wish you amazing success.

I wish you many happy returns. We usually use this expression

when it's someone's birthday and we're hoping  that they will have many more birthdays.

Okay, let's end the lesson with a typical conversation  that brings in all of this together:

I'd hoped I'd get an A in physics, but I only got a B.

That's a great mark! I wish I were doing that well in my tests.

You know I'm hoping to study astrophysics at university,

but I doubt I have the brains.

I wish I were a bit smarter.

You are very smart! I wish you would stop putting yourself down all the time.

Do you really mean it? I hope you're not just flattering me.

Of course not! I know you will do well in any subject you wish to study.

Okay! That's the end of this lesson.

If you want to learn more about the Subjunctive form,

you can watch this lesson.

And remember to check out my online course at

Anglo-Link.com for lots of lessons and exercises on many different topics.

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Thanks a lot for watching.

I wish you all the best with your studies.

And I hope to see you again very soon.

Goodbye for now.