English Language & Usage Asked by Marie Mit on November 30, 2020
I’m reading about the correct usage of wish-constructions, and my English grammar book says:"Would + infinitive may be found in the subordinate clause only if the subjects in the clauses are different. It makes the wish more emphatic. The use of "would + infinitive" often implies that you want a situation to change and you talk about things that annoy you". As an illustrative example the book this:
I wish it would stop raining. It rains all the time.
But I have several questions regarding it.
The book says that "would" in wish-constructions is put in subordinate clauses if a person is annoyed by something. However, it writes "often implies" but not "always implies". So I’d like to know if "would" can be used in wish-constructions when a person isn’t annoyed.
Also, I’m puzzled with the second sentence of the example( "It rains all the time"). They first wrote about annoyance, but put a form of Present Simple. Wouldn’t it be more logical if they wrote the second sentence in emotional Present Continuous instead of Present Simple ("It’s raining all the time), so that it can express a stronger emotion?
Finally, I would like to clear up another thing. What if I ommit "would" and formulate the sentence in a different way: "I wish it stopped raining."Will it be correct from the point of view of grammar?
In this context the simple present has to be understood as what is called a state present, here used to express unchanging situations (ref.); therefore, of the present continuous or the state present either one of the two is right. You might prefer the present continuous and use it just as well.
This would be another way to say the same thing. It is used in the written part of the language (ngram, ref.)
ACGOTEL, 14.23 n [f] In subordinate clauses following "I wish (that)" the hypothetical past may be replaced by hypothetical "would" or by a to-infinitive.
I wish [she visited/she would visit/her to visit] me more often.
Answered by LPH on November 30, 2020
Get help from others!
Recent Answers
Recent Questions
© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP