Meaning
« I wish I were » est une expression anglaise utilisée pour exprimer un souhait ou un regret concernant une situation irréelle ou hypothétique dans le présent. Elle est souvent employée lorsque vous voulez dire que vous aimeriez que quelque chose soit différent de ce qu'il est actuellement.
Dans cette expression, « wish » signifie souhaiter, et « were » est le subjonctif du verbe « to be » pour toutes les personnes, y compris la première personne du singulier. L'utilisation du subjonctif « were » au lieu de « was » est une particularité grammaticale qui souligne l'irréalité de la situation. Par exemple, lorsque vous dites « I wish I were taller », vous exprimez le désir d'être plus grand, même si ce n'est pas le cas actuellement.
Cette structure est utile pour parler de rêves, de désirs ou de regrets qui ne peuvent pas être réalisés dans la situation présente. Elle permet de communiquer des sentiments profonds de manière claire et précise. En résumé, « I wish I were » est un outil linguistique puissant pour exprimer ce que vous aimeriez changer dans votre réalité actuelle.
Today's Sentences
- I wish I were richer.
- I wish I were thinner.
- I wish I were younger.
- I wish I were on a beach.
- I wish I were running outside.
- Writer's Note
01
I wish I were richer.
Situation 1
Here’s your mail.
More bills.
What else is new?
Quoi de neuf d'autre ?
Are you in a mood?
What’s going on?
Que se passe-t-il ?
I wish I were richer.
I’m so sick of paying bills.
J’en ai tellement assez de payer les factures.
Situation 2
I wish I were richer.
Don’t we all.
But I mean like super rich.
So rich that all you can do is spend.
Tellement riche que tout ce que vous pouvez faire est de dépenser.
Would that really make you happier?
02
I wish I were thinner.
Situation 1
I wish I were thinner.
You look perfectly beautiful to me.
Is it about what others think?
Est-ce à propos de ce que pensent les autres ?
Yes and no.
I wanna feel good about myself.
Je veux me sentir bien dans ma peau.
Maybe focus on your inner self and why you feel like you need to be thinner.
Situation 2
Look at these models.
I recognize some of them.
I wish I were thinner.
These models can wear whatever they want.
Ces mannequins peuvent porter ce qu'ils veulent.
I think you look perfectly beautiful the way you are.
Isn’t that more important?
N’est-ce pas plus important ?
03
I wish I were younger.
Situation 1
I'm starting to look middle aged.
No, you don’t.
You look very young for your age.
Vous avez l'air très jeune pour votre âge.
I wish I were younger.
Well, how about wishing you could age gracefully instead of wishing for something that is impossible.
Situation 2
Should I go see a dermatologist?
Why?
Well, I wish I were younger.
I wish I looked younger too.
Je souhaite aussi avoir l'air plus jeune.
I support you in any decision you make.
Even if that means going under the knife to look younger.
Même si cela signifie passer par la chirurgie pour paraître plus jeune.
04
I wish I were on a beach.
Situation 1
I wish I were on a beach.
That sounds amazing.
Laying on the sand around sunset with a drink in one hand and a book in the other.
I’m looking at tickets, as we speak.
Situation 2
You’ve been so stressed these past few months.
Do you need to get away?
Avez-vous besoin de vous évader ?
I wish I were on a beach.
Tell you what.
I’ll send you to the beach, just choose if you’d rather go alone or together.
Je vous enverrai à la plage, choisissez simplement si vous préférez y aller seul ou ensemble.
Together, of course!
05
I wish I were running outside.
Situation 1
Damn this weather.
I know.
It’s just too hot to go anywhere or do anything.
Il fait tout simplement trop chaud pour aller n'importe où ou faire quoi que ce soit.
I wish I were running outside.
Let’s go for a run as soon as this heatwave dies.
Situation 2
I wish I were running outside.
You can run all you want when you get better.
This cast is so itchy.
Hopefully, you’ll recover fully from your broken leg.
Writer's Note
What is the difference between "were" and "was"?
"Were" and "was" are both past tense versions of the verb to be. But "were" is usually used in relation to second person singular and plural pronouns such as "you", "your", "yours". And a handful of times it could be used with first and third person plural pronouns such as "we", "they".
We use "was", on the other hand, when we’re using the first person singular pronoun or when using the third person singular such as "he" or "she".
For example, you wouldn’t say, "You was going to the gym". You would say, "You were going to the gym".
But you would say, "I was going to the gym" rather than "I were going to the gym."
In a nutshell, I wish I were = grammatically correct

