Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[fw]

I�m interested in the �I wish � would� pattern.

I understand #1, below, is natural English.
(When someone is not willing to help you, you say to yourself.)
1. �I wish he would help us.�

I came across the following two sentences the other day in a grammar book published in Japan. The situations are given in the parentheses.

(When someone is in seriously bad physical condition and difficult to recover, you say to yourself.)
2. �I wish he would get well.�

(Someone is a very lazy student who doesn�t study at all, and he is going to have an exam soon. You say to yourself.)
3. �I wish he would pass the exam.�

Do the two sentences, #2 and #3, each make sense in the given situations?

I thought it would have been more acceptable if it had been as follows.
2� �I wish he could get well.�
3� �I wish he could pass the exam.�

I sense "willingness" in the word "would."

Am I correct?

[Bob S.]

The form I wish _st_ would _infinitive verb_ is often used to express frustration that something has not been done or has not started yet. So,