@tanguatlay,
Quote:a) Could somebody please confirm that 'would' should be used in all the words in bold? The writer, a non-native, sometimes uses 'will' and sometimes 'would'. I wonder he or she is correct in the choice of 'will'. I think 'would' should be used.
1. If I were given a few wishes, I would wish for things that will be beneficial to society. It will be selfish and self-centred of me if I wished for things only for my personal benefit.
A 'will' is possible where I've underlined, Ms Tan. Imagine a speech being given and at that point the speaker is shaking their finger, emphasizing that something is going to happen, possibly admonishing others that they haven't.
'are' could/can also be used there.
It's a dramatic shift from the more unreal sense that 'wish' connotes. The normal and the neutral situation would see an irrealis sense throughout, using 'would'.
The italicized 'will' sounds odd because the situation is clearly in the realm of irrealis. Note the past tense form [
ed] added onto 'wish'.
Quote:2. I wish that everyone would play a role in caring for the environment. If we continue to waste our precious resources and abuse our environment, it will be an uphill task to reverse the impending disaster.
Here the sense shifts from the more unreal, denoted by 'wish' and 'would', at the "If", which we must note, points to a conditional to wit, "Upon the condition that we continue to waste our precious resources ..."
The speaker has chosen to put this in the realm of the real by using present tense "continue", so it is likely that most would/will choose 'will'. A 'would' is not out of the question at the underlined position.
Quote:b) For paragraph 2, should 'would wish' be used instead of
'wish'.
Why do you think this should be, Ms Tan?
Quote:c) Are there any other errors in the passage?
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A: Wish for a pony.
B: No, if I wish for a pony, that will be selfish.
= If I make a wish for a pony, that will be selfish.
A: Wish for a pony.
B: No, if I wish
ed for a pony, that would be selfish.
= If I made a wish for a pony, that would be selfish.