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Hope Vs. Wish

June 19, 2014

After this lesson, I hope my students understand when to use these verbs. Actually, I wish they already understood!

This week our head writer, Tara Benwell, is working on a Discussion Starters lesson plan about Hosting the World, a lesson on hosting huge events like the World Cup or the Olympics. This lesson includes a review of the verbs hope and wish, so I decided to make a comparison chart that you can use in class. I also included a printable exercise sheet at the end. We hope this post helps your students keep the different grammar patterns for these two verbs straight!

Hope Vs. Wish

Hope and wish have very similar meanings. We use them to express our desire for something different from how it is now. In a nutshell, hope mainly expresses a desire that is possible or likely to happen. Wish usually expresses a desire that is impossible or unlikely to happen. To express a future desire, hope usually takes a simple present verb, and wish mostly follows the pattern of the second conditional (i.e., using would and other past patterns). In the past, wish follows the pattern of the third conditional (i.e., using had + p.p.).

Hope Vs. Wish Chart

Download PDF

Notes

Sentences with hope and wish are usually followed by a noun clause starting with that. In English, we often drop that from noun clauses, especially in informal speaking and writing. Point this out to students by giving them these two examples, which have the same meaning: I hope that I pass the test. / I hope I pass the test. You may also want to point out that it is possible, though less common, to use hope and wish with other types of phrases (e.g., I hope to pass the test. / I wish for rain tomorrow.)

Was or Were?

Because wish is a subjunctive verb, it follows the same pattern as the second conditional where the Be verb is concerned (i.e., traditional grammar dictates we should always use were and never was, even when the subject is I, he, she, a singular count noun, or a non‑count noun, as demonstrated in the chart above). But should we teach this to our students when so many native speakers ignore this rule? Well, I like to advise my students to follow this rule (since it is the “correct grammar”), but I do point out that it is becoming less popular these days to do so. Whether this is because it’s becoming a fossilized mistake or because English is legitimately evolving away from the formality of the subjunctive is an argument for another day!

Practice

Hope or Wish Practice?

Download Hope Vs. Wish Exercises PDF

Answers

Part A Part B
  1. hope
  2. hope
  3. wishes
  4. wish
  5. wishes
  1. were finished
  2. is
  3. had helped
  4. pay
  5. would stop

References

Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Understanding and Using English Grammar, second edition. Prentice Hall Regents, NJ.

Bonus Question

Can your students tell you what tenses and patterns were used in the introductory sentences to this post?

Answers

Sentence #1

“After this lesson, I hope my students understand when to use these verbs.”

Verb hope
Tense future
Pattern hope / present

Sentence #2

“Actually, I wish they already understood.”

Verb wish
Tense present
Pattern wish / past
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Comments (50)

Marilena P.(Teacher)

great these PDFs explanation and exercise! Very useful! Thanks

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Tanya Trusler(Author)

Glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. :)

Elisabete (Guest)

Very good explanation and exercise!!! Thx

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Tanya Trusler(Author)

You're welcome, Elisabete. Thanks for your comment!

Cristel Marcos(Guest)

Thank you so much for the help!

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    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    You're very welcome, Cristel!

    rith (Guest)

    Very good explanation and very good example. Especially, was and were.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    That's great to hear! Thanks.

    Cindy Beatch(Guest)

    Excellent! It is just missing the infinitive form for 'Hope' in the future. ie. She hopes to pass the test.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Great point! 'Hope' is commonly used with the infinitive verb. Thanks for sharing!

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    I've added an example with 'hope + infinitive' to the 'Notes' paragraph. Thanks again, Cindy!

    Dania (Guest)

    Cool explanation, love it ?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Thanks, Dania!

    Mehdi (Guest)

    I'm engligh student.
    Thanks a lot for you.

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    You're welcome, Medhi. Good luck with your English studies!

    Paulo Eduardo(Guest)

    Why is the b1 exercise right answer 'were finished' in the class is in the singular form?
    I tought it was 'was finished' the right answer and I tried to understand why I was wrong buut I didn't get the right point, the right idea or better saying, the explanation, so could you help me?

    Reply to Comment

    Paulo Eduardo(Guest)

    Maybe it's because we are supposed to use 'were' for all persons in wish statemnents.

    I got it!

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Yep, you got it! It's common to be confused about this because we often hear English speakers saying 'was' instead of 'were.' 'Were' is the correct subjunctive form (with 'wish' and 'if' statements), but many people ignore this rule nowadays and use 'was' for singular cases. In today's grammar, I think most people would consider both correct.

    Nasim (Guest)

    Hi. Would you please explain part B.3. Why the right answer is 'had helped' and not 'helped'?

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    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Nasim,

    If this is a past situation, then we can use wish + had + p.p. (see example for Past #1, 'I wish I had passed the test,' in the first chart). So we would say, for example, 'My coworker wishes I had helped him with the presentation yesterday because it didn't go well.'

    Wish + past is normally reserved for a present situation (see Present #1 in the first chart). Some speakers might drop 'had' and just say 'helped' in an informal past case, so you might have heard that before. But since it's not the best grammar, I would try to avoid it and not teach it to students.

    It would be fine to say 'My coworker wishes I would help him with the presentation' (see Future #1) if you are talking about the potential of helping him soon.

    Hope that helps!

    Febri (Guest)

    Would you please explain, in part 'hope/past' , is this sentence correct? ' l hope he could go to the meeting yesterday' because the form past of 'can' is 'could'
    Thank you for the answer

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Febri,

    That sentence is indeed correct! You can use a past modal or modal expression in place of a past verb.

    √ I hope he could go to the meeting yesterday.
    √ I hope he was able to go to the meeting yesterday.

    Zuriel (Guest)

    Tanya, Thank you for a great blog/article...I write a daily journal while I commute to work in a train....and today as I wrote in the journal I wrote I wish but then I stopped and pondered over whether wish was appropriate or hope or what the difference would be....and here I am reading your article .....thank you for clarifying.

    All the best

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    I'm glad it was helpful, Zuriel! Keep up the journal writing. It's such a good way to improve your English. :)

    kanchan (Guest)

    i want to know about wish sentences into change a hypothetical clause.
    thanks.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Sentences with 'wish' describe a hypothetical situation. For other ways to talk about hypothetical situations, we can use the second conditional. There are examples in my blog post here: https://blog.ellii.com/2013/03/14/an-easy-way-to-teach-conditionals/

    Hope that helps!

    kanchan (Guest)

    Hi Tanya.
    I got it.Thank you so much.

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Happy to hear it, Kanchan.

    Indah (Guest)

    Very useful... Thanks a lot

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    You're welcome, Indah!

    Daniel (Guest)

    Thanks for share this info.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    You're welcome, Daniel!

    faraidon (Guest)

    hello Tanya I made up my mind to know the exact structure and usage of the hope with the past tense and l am looking forward to hear you as soon as possible

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Faraidon,

    There are a few different ways you can use 'hope' in the past.
    1. Use 'hope + past' for something you hope happened in the past that still relates to a present hope.
    - I hope she remembered to bring the report!

    1. Use 'was/were hoping + would + V' or 'was/were hoping + for + noun' for a desire that you hoped would happen, but didn't. The 'ing' form emphasizes that you were hoping for a while.
    2. I was hoping he would call me last night. Oh well.
    3. They were hoping for a different outcome.

    4. Use 'had hoped + would + base verb' to show two different past times. 'Had hoped' was the first action, and 'would + base verb' was the second. The meaning is that first you hoped something, but then it didn't happen.

    5. I had hoped he would call me last night. (By 10:00 pm, I had given up hope.)

    6. Note that 'had hoped' can be shortened to 'hoped' with the same meaning.

    7. I hoped he would call me last night.

    Hope that helps! :)

    Tracy D.(Teacher)

    Excellent!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Thanks, Tracy!

    YH (Guest)

    Thanks for this nice little article. Quite useful actually.

    I am still confused with another seeming very common scenario. I hope you do not mind to explain please. Thank you.

    I often see people sending emails or greeting cards with the ending: 'Best wishes' or 'Very best wishes for [the future of something else]'

    If 'wish' expresses a desire that is impossible or unlikely to happen, does the above greeting mean the sender doesn't really believe the recipient would have a great future? Should it be better to use 'Best hopes...' then?

    Or is it true that, as nouns, the words 'wish' and 'hope' don't have the above differences as they have when they are as verb?

    Incidentally, if I say 'I wish you would not mind to explain please.' above. Is this way more polite or it is not appropriate?)

    Thanks and sorry for my poor English.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi YH,

    Thanks for commenting. Good question! It's important to keep in mind that both 'hope' and 'wish' are usually used to describe good, positive things that you WANT to happen. Just because the verb 'wish' is used for situations where the outcome is more unlikely doesn't mean that the wish is negative. Also, as nouns, 'hope' and 'wish' are very similar.

    'Best wishes' and 'I wish you all the best' are common expressions and are used correctly. 'Best hopes' is not common, but other expressions, such as 'May all your hopes and dreams come true,' are common. By the way, we use 'wish' for special occasions too, such as 'We wish you a merry Christmas,' even though having a merry Christmas or a happy birthday IS likely. The distinction in the verb form doesn't apply to the noun form.

    In your last question, 'hope' is better than 'wish' because you are using a verb, and it is likely that I will respond (based on the fact that you can see I have responded to other questions). So you should say 'I hope you won't mind explaining this to me, please.'

    If you could see that I never responded to blog posts, you might say to your friend 'This blogger never replies to comments. I wish she would reply.' (Use this if you think it's unlikely someone will respond.)

    Hope that helps!

    Fred (Guest)

    Why people say we wish you a merry christmas not I
    we hope you a merry christmas?

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    That's a very good question, Fred! We commonly use 'wish' in this sort of expression with the pattern 'S + wish + (O) person + (O) thing.' Examples include 'We wish you good fortune' and 'I wished him luck.' We don't have this kind of shortened expression with 'hope.' We have to say a normal, full sentence with two verbs: S + hope + S + V + O, as in 'We hope (that) you have a great birthday' and 'I hope (that) you do well in your interview.'

    Omar Ovando(Guest)

    I want to be part of this. What do I have to do?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi, Omar! Sign up here to become an ESL Library member: https://ellii.com/pricing

    El mouetaz bellah Maatallah(Guest)

    How about using hope and wish with that ..
    Ex: i wish that my dreams comes true ?
    Or i wish my dreams comes true

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi there,

    A noun clause usually follows 'I wish' in English. An object noun clause often begins with 'that,' but we can usually drop 'that' in speaking and writing. (Be careful to use 'would' in the noun clause in your examples.) The following are both correct:
    - I wish that my dreams would come true.
    - I wish my dreams would come true.

    They are both common, but dropping 'that' is probably a bit more common in speaking and writing. Hope that helps!

    Jen (Guest)

    Sometimes people also use, 'I was hoping you could help me' to make a request. In this case, using the past tense softens the request.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Great point, Jen! Thanks for sharing.

    Someone M.(Member)

    thank you. you really help me so much

    Reply to Comment

    Lei Kayanuma(Author)

    Hello, we're happy to hear that the blog post was helpful!

    Kuldeep Mishra(Guest)

    I am really thankful to you
    Today I clearly understood use of Hope

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    That's music to my ears, Kuldeep! Thanks for commenting.

    Leave a Comment

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