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Tue 13 May, 2014 07:48 am
Dear teachers,
How should I transform this sentence using "wished", please?
He cannot come skiing with them. He has not recovered from the operation.
a) They wished he would come skiing with them, but he hasn't recovered
from the operation.
b) They wished he could come skiing with them, but he hasn't recovered
from the operation.
c) They wished he had recovered from the operation so that he could come skiing with them.
d) They wished he would have recovered from the operation so that he could come skiing with them.
Any other possibility?
Thanks,
Hela
@Hela,
Quote:How should I transform this sentence using "wished", please?
Why are you trying to do that? What are you trying to achieve?
@McTag,
It's part of a sentence transformation exercise. It consists in finding which tenses can be used to express the same idea as the original sentence without "wished".
Have a nice day.
@Hela,
My question had a serious purpose, because knowing that is helpful to formulate the answer you need.
@Hela,
Quote:Any other possibility?
You could start some with "He wished..."
@McTag,
I don't understand what you mean. I gave you my answers in the first post (from a to d), and I would like to know which ones are incorrect and why.
Thank you for your patience.
@Hela,
Quote: and I would like to know which ones are incorrect and why.
That's not what you asked for originally. You asked
Quote:Any other possibility?
None of them are badly wrong, but c) is best. The tenses in the others are a bit imprecise.
a) They wished he would come skiing with them, but he hasn't recovered
from the operation. Incorrect; 'wished he would come' means 'wished he was willing to come'; since medical incapacity is mentioned, it is ability ('could'), not willingness ('would'), that is the issue; also tense mismatch between 'wished' and 'hasn't': should be wish...hasn't or wished...hadn't.
b) They wished he could come skiing with them, but he hasn't recovered
from the operation. Incorrect; tense mismatch as above .
c) They wished he had recovered from the operation so that he could come skiing with them. Correct.
d) They wished he would have recovered from the operation so that he could come skiing with them. Incorrect; 'would have recovered' is slang/colloquial/informal (chiefly US English) for 'had recovered'.
@Hela,
One more question, please.
Is it possible to have such a construction in "proper" English?
He cannot come skiing with them. He has not recovered from the operation.
d) They wished he had recovered from the operation
to come/
go skiing with them.
Thanks a lot.
@Hela,
Quote:He cannot come skiing with them. He has not recovered from the operation.
d) They wished he had recovered from the operation to come/go skiing with them.
He cannot GO skiing with them.
"Will you come with us?" "No, I cannot go with you."
They wished he had recovered from the operation enough to be able to go skiing with them.
"Come" would also work here, but for some reason (future?) I prefer "go".
@McTag,
ok, so whether with the verb "go" or "come" I need to add "to be able to" before the verb, right?
They wished he had recovered from the operation enough
to be able to go skiing with them.
All the best
@Hela,
I'm not sure it's vital, but adding "enough to be able to" makes it a bit more natural.
I've had a nap, so I feel refreshed enough to post on A2K.
English is a very flexible language.
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