Subjunctive Mood

If the desire is to express a wish that the current (present) situation were other than it is, then only the first is correct English. I wish my dog were not dead; I wish my car were a different colour; I wish he were not singing. (Some modern usage guides allow "was"). If such a meaning is intended, then the second is a fairly common type of expression in some parts of North America, regarded by grammarians as non-standard or even wrong. You can use 'would' followed by the infinitive of a verb to express hope that a current situation will change or improve in some way either immediately or in the future: I wish it would stop raining; I wish interest rates would decrease/become lower/fall; I wish he would stop singing.

Perfect!!!! Thanks very much! You're my life line, Centrox!

Could be wrong about this but I always thought the subjunctive mood implied an action that might be taken if the wish or desired condition were met. i.e., "If interest rates were higher I'd invest in bonds".

That might be what centrox is saying too

I find it very interesting that some cultures lack the subjunctive mood in thought or language.

Some Americans (and maybe Canadians) say "If I would have [done something]..." where standard English expects "If I had [done something]...".

Note: US spelling of "traveled".

Correct: If I had gotten paid, we could have traveled together.
Correct: Had I gotten paid, we could have traveled together.
Incorrect: If I would have gotten paid, we could have traveled together.

Correct: If you had asked me, I could have helped you.
Correct: Had you asked me, I could have helped you.
Incorrect: If you would have asked me, I could have helped you.

The same mistake occurs with the verb “wish.” You can’t use the conditional perfect when wishing something had happened; you again need the past perfect.

Correct: I wish I had known.
Incorrect: I wish I would have known.

Correct: I wish you had told me.
Incorrect: I wish you would have told me.

Correct: We wish they had been honest.
Incorrect: We wish they would have been honest.

This seems to be, at least partly, a regional thing. I have seen on a grammar blog, a comment by a woman from New York, whose husband, raised in the Midwest of the USA, was an incorrigible user of the above "incorrect" forms.

Yes, that is true as well. "If wishes were horses then beggars would ride". If my journey to work were shorter then I'd walk. If it were not so cold I would not need a coat. If my salary were greater I would not need to beg in the street.

I wonder about that. Language, maybe. Thought, I don't know. I am not an expert (I have not studied Japanese) but I am told that in Japanese there is no difference between conditional statements and subjunctive statements. Conditional words, as well as the conditional conjugations would be used to express what's called the subjunctive mood in other languages. So Japanese people are capable of forming subjunctive concepts, even if the language lacks explicit constructs. The idea has been put forward (by someone called Phuc Tran) that since Vietnamese lacks a subjunctive, the Vietnamese people are happier because they "can't imagine" what might have been, what should have been, etc. However I think it seems to be a core property of human thought that we can think or talk about things that are not present in the immediate reality, the “here and now”. We can talk about things that happened in the past, even remote past we could not have witnessed, about imaginary events (“fiction”), and creatures like Santa Claus and the unicorn. In response to Tran, linguists have expressed doubt that Vietnamese speakers cannot imagine (“think about”) entities and events that do not have a basis in reality.

Yes: The difference is where in time the witness is looking. In the first version, the character is looking at the past and expressing a timeless wish that it was different. In the second version, the character is looking at the future and making the same comment.

The above is unreliable. The poster seems to be unaware of the subjunctive.

I suspect that you are right about all humans having the subjunctive concept.

The Vietnamese are the only people I had enough exposure to form an opinion but they did seem to lack it. But I think that was only because of the expectations and pressures their culture put on them. Naturally, we're stereotyping here and there are no doubt exceptions.

There were both up and down sides to the deficiency. Most didn't seem to worry about things they could not change but they accepted things I think they could. That was a long time ago, their culture could be much different today for all I know.

The subjunctive mood isn't really needed in English. In most sentences, the indicative an subjunctive forms are the same. It is a strange holdover from earlier languages. You don't ever need to use the subjunctive form in modern English.

In true Romance Languages, such as French or Spanish, the subjective form is far more important and common.

Where I am, saying "If was you" and not "if I were you" is seen as a little casual and relaxed.