CalifJim  +  56136 Fri, 19 Nov 04 04:33 AM You're right about "I wish I could buy ...". "could" is used this way all the time. You're also right that wish+would can imply irritation, and probably usually does, but the degree of irritation can be strong or mild or anything in between, depending on the context. Consider that we usually are a bit irritated when we want someone to do something - when we think they should be doing it - and (Remember that these propositions are all counterfactual) they have certainly not been doing it. "I wish the weather would be nice" is definitely not the thing to say! In the ears of a native speaker it is too close a parallel with "I wish you would be nice"! It seems to treat the weather as an animate being. It invites the listener to think in terms of "a nice person" rather than "nice weather", two rather different associations with the word "nice". No, the writers of grammar books aren't crazy! They need to limit themselves to what is most practical for most people. You would need to get into linguistics if you wanted to learn the subtleties. I am only an amateur linguist myself, so I don't say that I'm always exactly right. Rather, I like to explore questions of syntax and usage in a certain way, and I talk in those terms as a sort of model of another way you could explore language on your own. CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,379 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Grammar

	ripley  +  56189 Fri, 19 Nov 04 01:28 PM Hi Jim, I'm very pleased to know I got it right about "could" and "would"; what about my introduction. Am I right when I say: Hi Jim, thanks for your reply. Please, tell me if I got it rightI can use the simple past (which is actually a past subjunctive) only with verbs with an imperfective aspect ( love, live, have, be), that is stative verbs or verbs which express habitual actions (It's not very simple to distinguish these two categories for me...) Therefore I cannot say I wish I bought ( because the verb buy has perfective aspect; and what's more many people could understand I wish I had bought..) Thanks a lot bye. Rip. : D ripley Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 New Member 11 Verbs, Subjunctives, Simple Past, Stative Verbs

	ripley  +  56190 Fri, 19 Nov 04 01:38 PM By the way....., am I also right when I say that "the weather would be nice" ist probably wrong because it is due to the fact that the verb be is a stative verb and perhaps you use would only with active verbs???? I'd like just to know if I justified the phenomen in the right way...(Would: only with active verbs??????; is it correct? You told me only about the fact that the weather isn't a person ( so you can distinguish the categories animated inanimated) but I'd like to know if the difference between active and stative verbs is also a reason not to use would in this case and in general. Thanks. Hope to hear from you soon. Rip. ripley Verbs, Difference Between, Stative Verbs

	paco2004  +  56229 Fri, 19 Nov 04 08:04 PM Hi Ripley You raised a very interesting question and I think Jim's answers were great. My way to understand about the "I wish + past subjunctive" construction is like this. When you use a construction of "I wish + past subjunctive", you are expressing your regret that you are NOW not in the STATE you want to be in. When you speak "I wish I were a bird", your regret is that you are currently not in the state of "I am a bird". When you speak "I wish I knew French", your regret is that you are not in the state of "I know French." I think you can say "I wish I spoke French", because it is possible to suppose a state of "I speak French" (English speakers sometimes use the verb "speak" in a stative sense to mean "be able to speak a language"). I don't think it's impossible to say "I wish I went to church every Sunday", because we can imagine a current state of "I go to church every Sunday". However, you cannot speak "I wish I bought a car" because you cannot suppose a current state of "I buy a car." A current state you can suppose about your buying a car is usually either "I have bought a car" or "I can buy a car." And so you would say either "I wish I had bought a car" or "I wish I could buy a car." But personally I feel it could be possible to say "I wish I bought more than two magazines a week." I'd like to hear opinions about this from native speakers. paco paco2004 Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 Senior Member 4,095 In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English. Verbs, Subjunctives, Constructions

	CalifJim  +  56305 Sat, 20 Nov 04 07:01 AM Ripley, You have opened an area of inquiry that would take weeks or even months to explore thoroughly, so I will not be taking you up on the challenge! But I think you are on to something there. It appears there are certain kinds of expressions (like statives) that don't work well in the context of "... wish ... would ...". However, absent the "wish", "would" can certainly be used with any kind of verb: I would be foolish not to agree with the boss. Paul would buy that coat if he had the money. CJ [My point about animacy was specific to that particular example. I did not mean to imply that that feature was relevant in general in the case of "wish ... would ...".] CalifJim Verbs

	CalifJim  +  56307 Sat, 20 Nov 04 07:09 AM I find your observations completely clear and uncontroversial. It is, of course, the "every Sunday" and the "a week" in "I wish I went to church every Sunday" and "I wish I bought more than two magazines a week" which create the necessary imperfective aspect. CalifJim

	paco2004  +  56326 Sat, 20 Nov 04 10:57 AM Jim Thank you for the kind comment. Now I feel I got somehow confident in understanding the grammar of 'wish' + (past subjunctive). I've still another question about this. I heard that we could use the past subjunctive for any tense of 'wish'. So if it is true, I think we can say like; (1) Before I got married to George, I had wished if I were Jack's wife. (2) If I get married to George, I will soon wish if I were Jack's wife. Do you think my understanding is OK? paco paco2004 Subjunctives, Grammar, Tenses

	MrPedantic  +  56351 Sat, 20 Nov 04 03:24 PM However, you cannot speak "I wish I bought a car" because you cannot suppose a current state of "I buy a car." A current state you can suppose about your buying a car is usually either "I have bought a car" or "I can buy a car." And so you would say either "I wish I had bought a car" or "I wish I could buy a car." You might also say: 'I wish I were buying a car.' MrP: What on earth are you doing in that bicycle shop, Paco? Paco: I'm buying a bicycle. MrP: A bicycle, Paco! In this weather? You must be mad! Paco: I know, MrP, I know...I wish I were buying a car... MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...