Hope vs wish.

[tufguy]

Could you please explain to me the difference between "hope" and "wish"?

If we are talking about a past incident then what do we need to use "hope" or "wish"?

1) I hoped that I would pass the exam.
2) I wished I would pass the exam.
3) I hoped he would get well soon.
4 I wished he would get well soon.
5) I wished it would not rain on weekend.
6) I hoped it would not rain on weekend.

What is the way to decide which one to use for past, present and future?

 

[tedmc]

If we are talking about a past incident, then what do we need to when do we use "hope" or "wish"?

I think "hope" is more appropriate for your sentences.

See here.

 

[Tarheel]

We usually save wishes for things that are improbable. Coincidentally, I recently said to somebody, "I hope you get better soon." By saying that I'm saying that's what I want to happen.

Back to bed for me.

 

[tufguy]

We usually save wishes for things that are improbable. Coincidentally, I recently said to somebody, "I hope you get better soon." By saying that I'm saying that's what I want to happen.

Back to bed for me.

So we can use either of these for past incidents as well. Am I correct?

 

[tufguy]

We usually save wishes for things that are improbable. Coincidentally, I recently said to somebody, "I hope you get better soon." By saying that I'm saying that's what I want to happen.

Back to bed for me.

Okay so we can use both for the past. We use "wish" for the things that are unlikely to happen and "hope" for ones that were expected or likely to happen.

1) My friend's mother was ill and was about to die and we wished that she would recover.

2) I took and exam and hoped to get good marks on it and I did get good marks when the result was announced.

 

[Tarheel]

Okay so we can use both for the past. We use "wish" for the things that are unlikely to happen and "hope" for ones that were expected or likely to happen.

1) My friend's mother was ill and was about to die and we wished that she would recover.

2) I took an exam and hoped to get good marks on it, and I did get good marks when the result was announced.

For the first one, I am assuming you know the outcome. So you need to phrase it differently. Perhaps:

My friend's mother was I'll, and we were hoping she would recover, but she died.

As for the second one, apparently you are not used to getting good marks on exams. (There's a difference between hoping for something and expecting it.) While "hoped" is not terrible, it's pretty much expected that you hope to get good marks on exams. However, you get an 'A' for effort.

I suggest that you find ten sentences with "hope" and ten sentences with "wish".

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