English grammar · Intermediate
Wish Sentences: Past Simple, Past Perfect, and Would
Wish sentences use a past form to talk about a present or past that you want to be different. Wish plus past simple regrets a present state (I wish I had a longer greenhouse). Wish plus past perfect regrets a closed past (I wish I had netted the brassicas). Wish plus would complains about a present action you want to change (I wish the pigeons would leave the seedlings). Two cousins, it's time and would rather, share the same past-for-unreal pattern.
I wish the marrow had ripened before the frost; I wish it would stop raining on the greenhouse.
wish plus past perfect for a past regret; wish plus would for a complaint about now
What it is
A wish sentence does not describe a wish as a future plan. It borrows a past tense to mark that the situation is not real. The past simple after wish points at now (I wish the soil were drier: it is wet). The past perfect after wish points at a finished past (I wish I had sown earlier: I did not). Would after wish points at someone else's present behaviour that you want to stop or start (I wish the pigeons would leave the seedlings). The same backshift appears after it's time and would rather, which is why those patterns belong on this page rather than on a page about hope.
I wish I had a cold frame. (I do not have one.) I wish I had built a cold frame last autumn. (I did not.) I wish the wind would drop. (it hasn't, and I want it to)
How to spot it
Look for wish, if only, it's time, or would rather, then a clause whose tense is one step further back than the time you mean. Present regret uses a past form; past regret uses a past perfect; a complaint about behaviour uses would.
- I wish this allotment had a standpipe. (present state, past simple after wish)
- I wish I had mulched before the dry spell. (past regret, past perfect)
- I wish the council would empty the compost bays. (complaint: would plus bare verb)
- It's time we sorted the seed packets. (it's time plus past simple, meaning now)
Wish plus a to-infinitive (I wish to speak to the site secretary) is a formal want, not a hypothetical. It does not take a past form and does not belong with the patterns below.
Wish Sentences Quick Reference
Wish sentence patterns
| Pattern | Time you mean | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wish + past simple | present state you want to be different | I wish I had a longer greenhouse. |
| wish + past continuous | present activity you want to be different | I wish it weren't raining on the cloches. |
| wish + past perfect | past event you want to undo | I wish I had netted the brassicas. |
| wish + would + bare verb | someone else's behaviour, now or soon | I wish the pigeons would leave the seedlings. |
| it's time + past simple | present action that is overdue | It's time we sorted the seed packets. |
| would rather + past simple | preference about someone else's present action | I'd rather you didn't walk on the beds. |
Common Wish Sentences Examples in English
Four sentence patterns, grouped by the time you are talking about and the kind of dissatisfaction:
Present Regret: Wish + Past Simple
- I wish I had a longer greenhouse.
- present lack: no greenhouse
- She wishes the soil were less clayey.
- were is the unreal form of be
- I wish we didn't share the plot with so many pigeons.
- negative present state
- He wishes he knew how to prune the espalier.
- know is a state, so past simple not would
Were is the traditional form after wish with every subject (I wish I were, I wish it were). Was is common in speech: I wish I was. Both are heard; were is the safer choice in careful writing.
Past Regret: Wish + Past Perfect
- I wish I had netted the brassicas before the pigeons found them.
- past inaction, now too late
- She wishes she had sown the broad beans in November.
- a missed sowing date
- I wish we hadn't left the cold frame propped open.
- negative past: we did leave it open
- They wish they had asked for the shady half of the plot.
- a choice that cannot be remade
This is the same backshift as the third conditional. I wish I had netted them sits next to If I had netted them, the pigeons would have gone hungry.
Complaints: Wish + Would
- I wish the pigeons would leave the seedlings alone.
- complaint about their present behaviour
- I wish it would stop raining on the greenhouse.
- weather treated as a wilful action
- She wishes the site secretary would mend the standpipe.
- someone else, not herself
- I wish you wouldn't trample the chard.
- would not: a request wrapped as a complaint
Wish plus would needs a different subject from the speaker, or at least an action the speaker does not control. I wish I would be taller does not work; I wish I were taller does.
It's Time and Would Rather
- It's time we sorted the seed packets.
- overdue present action, past simple after it's time
- It's about time the council emptied the compost bays.
- about time adds impatience
- I'd rather you didn't walk on the beds.
- would rather plus past simple about someone else
- I'd rather stay and water the marrows.
- would rather plus bare infinitive about your own action
Would rather plus a bare infinitive is a simple preference about yourself (I'd rather stay). Would rather plus a subject plus past simple is a preference about someone else (I'd rather you stayed). Mix those two and the sentence collapses.
How Wish Sentences Work
One idea: use a past form to mark that the situation is not the one you want.
Past Simple after Wish Means Now
The past tense is not about yesterday. It is the same unreal past you meet in the second conditional. I wish I had a standpipe means I do not have one. I wish the soil were drier means it is wet. Stative verbs (have, know, be) always take this pattern, never wish plus would.
I wish I knew which blight hit the tomatoes.
present lack of knowledge, knew is unreal
Wish + past = present that's wrong.
Past Perfect after Wish Means Then
Move one step further back and you are regretting a closed past. I wish I had netted the brassicas means I did not net them. The participle sits after had, exactly as in the if-clause of a third conditional. This is the pattern for missed chances, wrong choices, and things you cannot redo.
I wish I had brought extra canes for the beans.
past inaction with a present result
Wish + had + participle = past regret.
Would after Wish Targets Someone Else's Behaviour
Wish plus would plus a bare verb is a complaint or a request about an action you cannot perform yourself. I wish the pigeons would leave; I wish you wouldn't trample the chard. It does not work for states (I wish I would have a greenhouse) and it sounds odd for your own controllable actions (I wish I would weed more is better as I wish I weeded more, or I wish I could weed more).
I wish the wind would drop before we put the cloches out.
a change of behaviour, not a state
Wish + would = I want them to change.
Could after Wish Adds Ability
I wish I could grow asparagus here regrets a present lack of ability or opportunity, not a lack of willingness. Could is the unreal present of can. For a past missed ability, I wish I could have saved the seedlings uses could have plus a participle.
I wish I could keep a water butt on the path.
present lack of ability or permission
Wish + could = I want to be able to.
It's Time and Would Rather Borrow the Same Past
It's time we sorted the packets uses a past simple to mean the action is due now, not that it already happened. I'd rather you didn't walk on the beds uses a past simple to talk about someone else's present action. Both patterns share wish's trick: a past form marks distance from the actual situation.
It's time you had a word with the site secretary.
the word is due now, not in the past
It's time / would rather + past about someone else.
Common Mistakes with Wish Sentences
Incorrect: I wish I have a longer greenhouse.
Correct: I wish I had a longer greenhouse.
Wish about a present state needs a past form. Have is the real present, so it cannot follow wish in this pattern. The past simple had marks that you do not have one.
Incorrect: I wish I would be taller so I could reach the top cordon.
Correct: I wish I were taller so I could reach the top cordon.
Would after wish is for actions, usually someone else's. Height is a state, so the pattern is wish plus past simple (were), not wish plus would.
Incorrect: I wish I netted the brassicas last week.
Correct: I wish I had netted the brassicas last week.
A closed past after wish needs the past perfect. Last week forces that reading. The past simple after wish is reserved for present states.
Incorrect: I'd rather you to stay off the beds.
Correct: I'd rather you stayed off the beds.
Would rather plus a new subject takes a past simple, not a to-infinitive. The infinitive appears only when the subject stays the same: I'd rather stay.
It's Time and Would Rather
Two patterns that borrow wish's past-for-unreal trick and are easy to mix up with ordinary tenses.
It's time + past simple
It's time, it's about time, and it's high time take a past simple to talk about a present action that is overdue. The past form does not mean the action happened.
- It's time we sorted the seed packets.
- we have not sorted them, and we should now
- It's high time the standpipe was mended.
- high time adds annoyance
- It's time to sort the seed packets.
- the to-infinitive version, no past form, same idea
It's time I would sort them is not English. Choose either it's time plus past simple or it's time plus a to-infinitive.
Would rather about yourself
Talking about your own preference, would rather takes a bare infinitive, and the negative is would rather not.
- I'd rather stay and water the marrows.
- bare infinitive, my own action
- I'd rather not share the plot with pigeons.
- would rather not plus bare infinitive
- Would you rather take the shady half?
- question form, still a bare infinitive
I'd rather to stay is the usual error. There is no to after would rather when the subject stays the same.
Would rather about someone else
Talking about another person's action, would rather takes a new subject and a past simple, the way wish does.
- I'd rather you didn't walk on the beds.
- your present action, past simple after a new subject
- I'd rather she took the shady half.
- preference about her present choice
- I'd rather you hadn't propped the cold frame open.
- past perfect for a past action you wish they had not done
I'd rather you to walk is impossible. Once a new subject appears, the verb goes into a past form, not an infinitive.
Quick Check: Wish Sentences
Complete each sentence with the form in brackets, using the wish pattern the time requires.
1. I wish I ___ (have) a standpipe on this plot.
Answer: had
present state, past simple after wish
2. I wish I ___ (net) the brassicas before the pigeons came.
Answer: had netted
closed past, past perfect
3. I wish the pigeons ___ (leave) the seedlings alone.
Answer: would leave
someone else's behaviour, wish plus would
4. It's time we ___ (sort) the seed packets.
Answer: sorted
it's time plus past simple, meaning now
5. I'd rather you ___ (not / walk) on the beds.
Answer: didn't walk
would rather plus new subject plus past simple
Wish Sentences FAQs
- How do you form wish sentences in English?
- Use wish plus a tense one step further back than the time you mean. For a present state, use the past simple: I wish I had a longer greenhouse. For a past event, use the past perfect: I wish I had netted the brassicas. For someone else's present behaviour, use would: I wish the pigeons would leave the seedlings.
- When do I use wish plus would?
- When you want a change of action that you do not control, usually someone else's: I wish the council would empty the compost bays; I wish you wouldn't trample the chard. Do not use it for states (I wish I would have a greenhouse is wrong) or for a simple present fact about yourself (I wish I would be taller is wrong; I wish I were taller is right).
- What is the difference between I wish I had and I wish I had had?
- I wish I had a cold frame regrets a present lack (I do not have one). I wish I had had a cold frame last winter regrets a past lack (I did not have one then). The extra had is the past perfect, and it is only needed when the regretted time is already closed. I wish I had netted them last week is the same idea with an action verb.
- How is it's time we left different from it's time to leave?
- Both mean the action is due now. It's time to leave uses a to-infinitive and does not name a new subject. It's time we left uses a past simple after a subject, the way wish does, and often sounds a little more pointed. It's time I would leave is not a pattern English uses.
- When do I use would rather with a past tense?
- When the preference is about someone else's action: I'd rather you didn't walk on the beds; I'd rather she took the shady half. When the preference is about your own action, would rather takes a bare infinitive: I'd rather stay and water the marrows. The past form is not past time; it is the same unreal marker you see after wish.