Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[tpeb]

Which sentence sounds better to you? Let me know why it does.

1) I wished the night would have been longer so that I could stay here longer.
2) I wished the night would be longer so that I could stay here longer.


Followings are what I've learned at school.

I wished I brought an umbrella.
=I was sorry I didn't bring an umbrella.

I wished I had brought an umbrella.
=I was sorry I hadn't brought an umbrella.

Thank you in advance.

[damon@English24/7]

Your verb tenses don`t agree so none of the sentences are right. Sentence one, in the present, would be:

"I wish the night were longer so that I could stay here longer."

In the past:

"I wished the night had been longer so that I could have stayed here longer."

Be careful with this second sentence. With the "here" you can only say it if you are back at the place that you were staying at on a subsequent occasion.

If you were speaking as you left then you would say:

"I wish the night had been longer so that I could have stayed here longer."

Which one you use depends on the situation that you are in.

I hope this helps.

Damon