the difference between words_ wish and hope « english help online's blog

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the difference between words: wish and hope

{ March 3, 2010 @ 5:37 am } { the difference between words }

There is a lot of confusion about the difference between the words wish and hope so I would like to clear it

up in todays blog entry. The word hope is used to talk about possible situations that we desire in the past,

present or future. The important thing to note is that these situations are POSSIBLE. For example:

I hope you had a good time at the party last night.

I havent looked outside yet. I hope its not raining.

I hope you have a great day.

I hope youre not going to go to the movie without me.

I hope my boss will give me a promotion this year.

I hope my boss gives me a promotion this year.

The last two examples are about the future. In English, we can use the future tense or the present tense after the

word hope to talk about the future. Both are natural.

On the other hand, wish is used to talk about situations that we desire, but which are the opposite of the

current reality or which are impossible. We can use wish + past tense to talk about our situation right now. Even

though we use the past tense, we are NOT talking about the past. For example:

I wish I had a car. (In reality, I dont have a car now, but I want one).

I wish I didnt have to work tomorrow. (In reality, I have to work tomorrow, but I dont want to).

I wish I were tall. (In reality, Im short, but I want to be tall).

I wish I could play the piano. (In reality, I cant play the piano, but I want to).

When we use wish + past perfect tense, we are talking about regrets we have from the past. For example:

I wish I hadnt gone to the party. (In reality, I went to the party, and now I regret it).

I wish I had studied harder in school. (In reality, I didnt study hard in school, and now I regret it).

I wish I hadnt gotten drunk in front of my boss. (In reality, I got drunk in front of my boss, and now I regret it).

I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night. (In reality, I didnt go to bed early last night, and now I regret it).
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We can use wish + would + verb to talk about situations that often happen in our lives that we dont like. For

example:

I wish my husband would help me clean the house. (In reality, my husband never helps me clean the house, and I

dont like it).

I wish my children wouldnt play their music so loudly. (In reality, my children play their music very loudly, and I

dont like it).

We can also use wish + noun to talk about things that we desire for other people. In these cases, the meaning of

wish is more similar to hope. This way of using wish, however, is much less common that the other ways.

For example:

We wish you a merry Christmas. (The meaning is: We hope you have a merry Christmas).

Wish me luck on my exam. (The meaning is: Please hope that I have good luck on my exam).

I wish you health and happiness. (The meaning is: I hope you have health and happiness).

Finally, we can use wish + the infinitive form of a verb (this is means to + the base form). In these cases, the

meaning of wish has the same meaning as want, but it is more formal. For example:

I wish to see your boss right away.

We dont have a table available right now. Do you wish to wait?

If you wish to have more information, please let me know.

I hope that everyone now understands the difference between these two words. The best way to really learn

them, as Ive mentioned before, is to memorize the full sentences and then change the small details in order to

create new sentences.

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3.

Habib Hashim Said:

on June 30, 2011 at 12:55 am

Thank you very much for the explicit explanation.keep it up. Hashim

Reply

4.

Moawia Abdalla Abase Said:

on November 2, 2011 at 11:30 pm

thank you very much

Reply

5.

Moawia Abdalla Abase Said:


I want to know the difference between job and career .

thanks

Reply

englishhelponline Said:


Hi there.

The difference between job and career is basically about how serious it is and whether or not

you will continue to do the same kind of work even if you leave a certain company.

For example, working at McDonalds is usually just a job for people because they probably wont

continue working in fast food restaurants for the rest of their lives. Being an accountant is a career

because if you leave one accounting company, its very likely you will continue to do accounting at

another firm.
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I hope that helps you.

Mike

Reply

6.

Jyne M. Velono Said:


nice.! thanx for the information! thanx a lot.!

Reply

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