This is New York in slow English.
New York is just so great during the holidays.
We have Rockefeller Center with its beautiful, huge Christmas tree, which by the way, is
from my hometown State College, Pennsylvania this year.
And we have all the beautiful stores on 5th Avenue that are decorated for the holiday
season.
There are a lot of people who are hoping and wishing for things this Christmas, including
presents from some of these stores.
Or maybe wishing that the world could be a better and safer place.
Hi, my name is Connie.
Have you ever wondered about the difference between "hope" and "wish"?
You probably haven't.
But there actually is a difference, and it's an area where English language learners often
make a lot of mistakes.
So, let's review what the meaning is behind each of the words, and also what the grammar
is, because the grammar changes.
Once we learn the grammar, let's listen to some New Yorkers as they use these words in
real time.
So, let's start with the word "hope".
We use this word when you want something and when you actually have a chance of getting
it.
So, when you hope for something, there's a possibility that you're going to get what
you want.
The grammar around "hope" is, it's actually pretty easy.
If we're talking about the past, we use the past tense.
So, for example, I would say, "I hope my husband caught his flight."
Or, "I hope my son walked the dog."
In both of these cases I'm talking about something that happened in the past.
If we're hoping for something in the present, then we use the present tense.
So, for example, I would say, "I hope I have the right address."
Or, "I hope he's alright."
In both of these cases, I'm talking about something that I want in the present.
And when we talk about something in the future, what do you think we use?
Surprise!
We actually use the present tense.
So, for example, I would say, "I hope the subway comes in time for me to get to work."
Or "I hope she has a really good time on her vacation next week."
Both of these things are talking about something that will happen in the future, but I use
the present tense.
One last thing.
If the subject of the sentence is the same as the subject after the word "hope", you
can use an infinitive.
So, I can say, "I hope I save more money next year."
Or, I could say, "I hope to save more money next year."
I could say, "I hope to go to Spain next summer."
Or, I could say, "I hope to go to Spain next summer."
Now, when we talk about "wish", this is when we want something but it is very unlikely
that we are actually going to get what we want.
Or it might even be completely impossible.
The grammar around the word "wish" is where things get a little bit tricky.
Because when we talk about something in the present, we actually use the past tense.
So for example, I would say, "I wish I had more time."
I'm talking about right now in the present, but I use the past tense.
Or I could say, "I wish I knew how to speak Spanish better."
This is something that is not going to happen right now.
It is impossible.
So we use the past tense.
When we talk about wishing for something in the future, we use the word "would".
This is the past tense of the future word "will".
So for example, I might say, "I wish you would quit smoking."
This means that I'm hoping that in the future you quit smoking, but I don't really believe
that you are going to do it.
So, let's compare these two words and how the meaning is different in these sentences.
The first one is, "I hope I have the right address."
This means that I actually have the address in my hand, and it's possible it might even
be really possible that it's the right address.
But there's some uncertainty around it.
If I say instead, "I wish I had the right address."
That means that it is very unlikely, or in fact impossible.
So I have the address.
Maybe I'm standing at the wrong house, and I know it's the wrong address.
There's no way I'm going to get the right address.
That's when you say, "I wish" with the past tense.
Here's an example of the future.
Suppose I say, "I hope you come to my party next week."
This means that I think that there's a good possibility, or at least some possibility
that you will actually come to my party.
But if I say, "I wish you would come to my party next week."
That means I pretty much know that you are not gonna come to my party.
Alright, let's go out into the street and listen to some real New Yorkers talk about
their hopes and wishes.
So do you think you're going to get anything for Christmas this year?
I think so, yes.
Who's gonna give you something?
Probably my children.
And what do you hope they get you?
I hope they get me something that is not materialistic.
She used the word "hope" because she believes her family is going to get her something for
Christmas.
She thinks it's very likely.
And she used the present tense.
So, do you think you're gonna get anything for Christmas?
I do.
Who is going to give it to you?
My family.
What do you hope they got you?
You know, I hope they got me something that's an experience.
She uses the word "hope" because she really thinks her family is getting her something.
But she uses the past tense because she believes that they have already bought it for her.
What do you hope to get for Christmas this year?
I hope to get a surfboard, or a dog.
Either one.
How likely is it that you are gonna get a surfboard?
Depends on if Stevie gets me one.
How likely is it that you are gonna get a dog?
Very unlikely.
I wish I could get a dog.
She uses the word "hope", indicating that she believes that she has a good chance, or
at least a possibility of getting surfboard.
She also uses the infinitive because she is the subject of both parts of the sentence.
She uses the word "wish" because she clearly thinks it's very unlikely that she's going
to get a dog.
Do you expect to get some presents for Christmas?
Actually, I don't know.
I just moved to New York 4 months ago.
I'm from Venezuela.
So I'm alone here.
Oh no!
I know.
I miss my family.
My family's in Venezuela.
I miss them very much.
Is there a special thing you're hoping for this season?
To be more kind.
To be more kind and more patient.
With others, and with myself because I'm always in a rush and things take time.
Is there something that you're wishing for?
I wish to save more money to help my family in Venezuela.
It's a frustrating situation, so it's a very terrible situation we're having there.
So I wish I could help them more.
This young woman's English is very good, but she makes a typical mistake.
She says, "I wish to save more money" where she uses the infinitive.
But the infinitive is used with the word "hope".
And also the meaning of what she's trying to say is really that she hopes to save money
because this is a realistic goal for her.
She gets it right the next time she uses the word "wish" when her meaning is that she wants
to help really badly, but she can't save enough money to help them.
It's impossible at this time.
And she uses the past tense.
What are you guys gonna do over Christmas?
Are you gonna take a break?
Yeah, so we're gonna drive to Memphis over Christmas.
And I really hope that we have good weather for the trip, because it's a long drive.
What are you gonna do in Memphis?
Well, I hope to visit the peanut store.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
What is the peanut store?
The peanut store is a little store in downtown Memphis where they roast their own peanuts
there.
That's sounds pretty interesting.
So, I wish that someone would buy me a box for Christmas.
A what?
A box.
A box of hand-roasted peanuts.
Ok.
Well, good luck with that.
Yes.
In the first sentence where she uses the word "hope" she's talking about the future.
But notice, she uses the present tense.
In the second sentence, she is also talking about the future, but in this case she uses
an infinitive.
This is because in both parts of the sentence she's talking about herself.
It's the same subject.
And finally, in the sentence where she makes a wish, she uses the past tense.
This makes me think that she doesn't really expect that anyone is going to give her this
present for Christmas.
So, I hope you liked this video.
And I wish we could meet.
But in the meantime, subscribe to my channel.
I'll bring you a new video every week about learning English and New York City.