# 1041 - How to Use WISH Naturally in English

An episode of [Happy English Podcast (Natural American English)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/884643408), 27 Apr 2026, 8:06.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71646828/1041_how_to_use_wish_naturally_in_english.mp3

I wish I had more time. I wish I could travel more. I wish it wasn’t raining today. You’ve probably heard sentences like these before. Do you wish using the word wish wasn't so confusing. Should you say, “I wish I have more time”? Or “I wish I had more time”? And what’s the difference between wish and hope? If you’ve ever wondered about that, today’s podcast English lesson is going to make this really clear. The Happy English Podcast Helping people speak English better since 2014 Over 1,000 episodes • 8 million downloads 📘 Get free weekly English lessons plus instant access to my FREE Vocabulary Workshop.: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/free-english-lessons 🎥 Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts 🌐 Learn more about my English lessons and courses https://www.myhappyenglish.com

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: I wish I had more time. I wish I could
[0:03] Speaker 1: travel more. I wish it wasn't raining today. You've probably
[0:08] Speaker 1: heard sentences like these before. Do you wish using the
[0:13] Speaker 1: word wish wasn't so confusing? Should you say I wish
[0:18] Speaker 1: I have more time or I wish I had more time?
[0:23] Speaker 1: And what's the difference between wish and hope? If you've
[0:27] Speaker 1: ever wondered about that, Today's podcast English lesson is going
[0:32] Speaker 1: to make this really clear.
[0:37] Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
[0:41] Speaker 2: New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.
[0:45] Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
[0:50] Speaker 1: here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
[0:55] Speaker 1: And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode one thousand forty one,
[1:01] Speaker 1: How to use wish naturally in English. Let's start with
[1:07] Speaker 1: a simple idea that will help you remember everything in
[1:11] Speaker 1: this lesson. We use wish when we talk about something
[1:15] Speaker 1: that's not possible right now or not likely to happen.
[1:20] Speaker 1: That's the key. If something is real or possible, we
[1:24] Speaker 1: usually use hope, but if it's not real or not likely,
[1:31] Speaker 1: we use wish. For example, I can say I wish
[1:37] Speaker 1: I had more free time. The truth is I don't
[1:41] Speaker 1: have enough free time. That's why I use wish. Or
[1:45] Speaker 1: maybe you're stuck at work and you say, oh, I
[1:48] Speaker 1: wish I were home right now, but you're not at home,
[1:52] Speaker 1: that's the point. Or imagine it's raining on your day off.
[1:57] Speaker 1: You might say, I wish it wasn't rain again. This
[2:01] Speaker 1: is the real situation, but you want the opposite. So
[2:06] Speaker 1: when we use wish, we're talking about an unreal situation.
[2:11] Speaker 1: And let's talk about the grammar for a minute. In English,
[2:15] Speaker 1: when we talk about imaginary or unreal situations, we often
[2:20] Speaker 1: use past tense forms, and it's the same with wish.
[2:25] Speaker 1: After wish, we usually use a past verb. For example,
[2:30] Speaker 1: I wish I had more money, not I wish I
[2:34] Speaker 1: have more money. Here's another one, I wish you were here,
[2:39] Speaker 1: even though we're talking about now. We use the past
[2:42] Speaker 1: form because the situation is imaginary. And here's something interesting
[2:48] Speaker 1: about the B verb. Informal or standard English, we often
[2:53] Speaker 1: use war for all subjects. So you might hear I
[2:58] Speaker 1: wish I were younger, or I wish you were here. Now.
[3:02] Speaker 1: I know what you're thinking. There's that song by radio
[3:05] Speaker 1: Head where they sing I wish I was special. That's
[3:10] Speaker 1: because in everyday casual conversation, it's very common to hear
[3:16] Speaker 1: I wish I was, I wish I was younger, or
[3:20] Speaker 1: I wish I was on a beach somewhere. Both forms exist.
[3:25] Speaker 1: I wish I were sounds a bit more formal, and
[3:29] Speaker 1: I wish I was sounds more casual. If you're taking
[3:34] Speaker 1: an exam, go with I wish I were. If you're
[3:38] Speaker 1: talking to your friends, you'll probably hear I wish I was.
[3:43] Speaker 1: You know, grammar books say were, but often real life
[3:48] Speaker 1: says was. And speaking of real life, you may even
[3:52] Speaker 1: hear people use a gerrand like I wish going there
[3:57] Speaker 1: was easier. Your grammar book will probably tell you that
[4:01] Speaker 1: the standard pattern is I wish it were easier to
[4:05] Speaker 1: go there, And that's true, that's the more typical structure,
[4:10] Speaker 1: But in everyday conversation people don't always follow the textbook
[4:16] Speaker 1: pattern exactly. So how do we use wish? Well, First
[4:21] Speaker 1: of all, we use wish when we talk about regrets.
[4:24] Speaker 1: For example, you might say I wish I had studied harder.
[4:30] Speaker 1: That means you didn't study enough in the past and
[4:33] Speaker 1: now you regret it, or maybe you're tired all day.
[4:38] Speaker 1: You might say I wish I had gone to bed
[4:41] Speaker 1: earlier last night. Here's another example. Imagine you didn't take
[4:47] Speaker 1: that great opportunity. You might say, I wish I had
[4:51] Speaker 1: taken that job. In these cases, we use wish followed
[4:56] Speaker 1: by had and the past participle to talk about past regrets.
[5:02] Speaker 1: I wish I had studied more. Now let's look at
[5:06] Speaker 1: a different kind of use, and this one is more
[5:08] Speaker 1: about everyday conversation. We also use wish when we say
[5:14] Speaker 1: nice things to people. For example, I wish you good luck,
[5:19] Speaker 1: or I wish you a happy birthday, or I wish
[5:23] Speaker 1: you all the best in your new job. And who
[5:28] Speaker 1: could forget we wish you a merry Christmas, Okay, not
[5:32] Speaker 1: in April. In these cases, wish means you want something
[5:38] Speaker 1: good for someone else. This is very common in daily life,
[5:42] Speaker 1: especially in messages, emails, or special situations. Now here's one
[5:48] Speaker 1: more quick point. You might hear someone say something like
[5:53] Speaker 1: I wish to speak to the manager. This is correct,
[5:56] Speaker 1: but it sounds really formal in everyday conversation, and we
[6:00] Speaker 1: usually say things like I want to speak to the
[6:03] Speaker 1: manager or I'd like to speak to the manager. So
[6:06] Speaker 1: let's put this all together. We use wish to talk
[6:10] Speaker 1: about things that are not possible right now or not
[6:14] Speaker 1: likely to happen, like I wish I had more time,
[6:18] Speaker 1: or I wish we were home right now. We use
[6:22] Speaker 1: wish to talk about past regrets, like I wish I
[6:26] Speaker 1: had studied more or I wish I had gone to
[6:29] Speaker 1: bed earlier. And we use wish to say something nice
[6:34] Speaker 1: to someone like I wish you good luck or I
[6:38] Speaker 1: wish you all the best. And remember, after wish, we
[6:43] Speaker 1: usually use a past form because we're talking about an
[6:46] Speaker 1: unreal situation. And when it comes to the B verb,
[6:50] Speaker 1: you'll hear both I wish I were and I wish
[6:53] Speaker 1: I was. One sounds formal and the other one is
[6:57] Speaker 1: more casual. So here's your challenge. Try making a few
[7:01] Speaker 1: sentences with wish. Think about something you want to change
[7:05] Speaker 1: in your life, something you regret, or something nice you
[7:09] Speaker 1: want to say to someone. Because, as you know, the
[7:12] Speaker 1: best way to remember English like this and any other
[7:16] Speaker 1: word or phrase in English is to take that word
[7:19] Speaker 1: or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true for
[7:23] Speaker 1: you or true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Hey,
[7:28] Speaker 1: thanks for listening, and remember learning another language is not easy,
[7:33] Speaker 1: but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you
[7:37] Speaker 1: on your journey.
[7:40] Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English Leads.
[7:43] Speaker 2: It that Myhappy English dot com show your support for
[7:48] Speaker 2: Happy English by leading us a review, Get English, Get
[7:51] Speaker 2: Happy Happy English. S n sais

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