Tag: ESL

Conjunctions

and: combine two similar information together.

We stayed at home and watched TV.
My sister is married and lives in London.
He doesn’t like her, and she doesn’t like him.
In lists, use commas (,). Use and before the last thing:
I like apples, bananas and oranges.


but: combine two conflicting or opposing information together.

I bought a sandwich, but I didn’t eat it.
It’s nice house, but it doesn’t have a garden.

or: combine two options together.

Do you want to go out, or are you too tired?


so: to say that the second information is the result of the first one.

It was very hot, so I opened the window.
Joe does a lot of sport, so he’s very fit.
They don’t like travelling, so they haven’t been to many places.

because : to tell the reason of something.

I opened the window because it was very hot.
joe can’t come to the party because he’s going away.
Lisa is hungry because she didn’t have breakfast. Because is also possible at the beginning: Because it was very hot, I opened the window.

wish

‘I wish you luck / all the best / a happy birthday’ etc.:

I wish you all the best in the future.
Wish me luck.

‘wish somebody something’ (luck I a happy birthday etc.).

Cannot say ‘I wish that something happens’. We use hope in this situation.

For example:

Compare I wish and I hope:

I wish you a pleasant stay here.
I hope you have a pleasant stay here. (not I wish you have)

We also use wish to say that we regret something, that something is not as we would like it. When we use wish in this way, we use the past (knew/lived etc.), but the meaning is present:

I wish I knew what to do about the problem. (I don’t know and I regret this)

I wish you didn’t have to go so soon. (you have to go)
Do you wish you lived near the sea? (you don’t live near the sea)
Jack’s going on a trip to Mexico soon. I wish I was going too. (I’m not going)

To say that we regret something in the past, we use wish + had … (had known I had said) etc.:

I wish I’d known about the party. I would have gone if I’d known. (I didn’t know)
lt was a stupid thing to say. I wish I hadn’t said it. (I said it)

I wish I could (do something) = I regret that I cannot do it: I’m sorry I have to go. I wish I could stay longer. (but I can’t)

I’ve met that man before. I wish I could remember his name. (but I can’t)

I wish I could have (done something) = I regret that I could not do it:

I hear the party was great. I wish I could have gone. (but I couldn’t go)

‘I wish (somebody) would (do something)’.

For example:

I wish … would when we would like something to happen or change. Usually, the speaker doesn’t expect this to happen.

We often use I wish … would to complain about a situation:
The phone has been ringing for five minutes. I wish somebody would answer it.
I wish you’d do(= you would do) something instead of just sitting and doing nothing.

I wish … wouldn’t … to complain about things that people do repeatedly:

I wish you wouldn’t keep interrupting me. (= please don’t interrupt me)

We use I wish … would … to say that we want something to happen. But we do not use I wish … would … to say how we .

Compare:

I wish Sarah would come. (= I want her to come)

I wish Sarah was (or were) here now. (not I wish Sarah would be)

I wish somebody would buy me a car.

I wish I had a car. (not I wish I would have)

Idioms
I wish! (informal)
used to say that something is impossible or very unlikely, although you would like it to be possible

“You’ll be finished by tomorrow.” “I wish!”