Confusions about the usages of Wish and If only
Thank you in advance my friends,

My questions are very simple; just to make sure that I am 100% correct.

1. I wish it would stop rain.

2. I wished you would have paid attention to me.

3. I wished you could have studied harder. ------ by the way: I know "Would" imply complains. How about "Could"?

4. I wish I might be there guarding your dream tonight. -------- p.s. Might/ May imply somethings impossible to happen, don't they?

5. In short, in Future Wishes, we can use Could/ Would/ Might/ Should Only in Future Tense can we use Might and Should, correct? And what is the meaning of Should in this usage?

6. in Present Wishes, we can use Past Tense/ Could/ Would.

7. in Past Tense, we can use Past Perfect/ Could have/ Would have

8. Is the Usage of " If only" the same as the above?

Thank you very very much my friends. I really really want to make sure if my knowledge is correct.

Question

Confusions about the usages of Wish and If only
Thank you in advance my friends,

My questions are very simple; just to make sure that I am 100% correct.

1.  I wish it would stop rain.

2.  I wished you would have paid attention to me.

3.  I wished you could have studied harder.   ------  by the way: I know "Would" imply complains. How about "Could"?

4.  I wish I might be there guarding your dream tonight.  -------- p.s. Might/ May imply somethings impossible to happen, don't they?

5.  In short, in Future Wishes, we can use Could/ Would/ Might/ Should   Only in Future Tense can we use Might and Should,          correct?    And what is the meaning of Should in this usage?

6.                in Present Wishes, we can use Past Tense/ Could/ Would.

7.                in Past Tense, we can use Past Perfect/ Could have/ Would have

8.  Is the Usage of " If only" the same as the above?

Thank you very very much my friends. I really really want to make sure if my knowledge is correct.

Answer

Hi, ZimermanCAD

1.  ...raining.
2.  ...could...
3. Yes, "...would..." indicates a complaint but "could" is also fine.
4. "may" for when you want to ask permission to do something and "might" shows possibility. Rather say: "I wish I was there to guard your dreams last night."
5, 6, 7. I'm not sure how to answer these but this might help...
Uses for "would": 
to talk about the past.
to talk about future in the past.
express the conditional mood.
express desire.
polite requests and questions.
opinion or hope.
wish and regret.
(Present tense of "would" is "will")

For "could":
to talk about possibilities/abilities to do things in the past.
to make requests.
(Present tense of "could" is "can")
8. It is used to express a strong wish that something could be different.

Hope this helps. Good luck! ;)

Answers · 2

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!