Speaker 1: I really want you to have a great experience learning
English with me. And if you do, I hope you
will tell your friends about this podcast. I wish I
could tell you how happy I am that you study
here with me. Want, hope or wish? Let's find out.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
This is Happy English Podcast, Episode seven seventy seven. Is
it want, wish or hope? What's the difference between why,
hope and wish? That's a question a lot of English
learners have, and today we're going to dive in and
find out. Let's look at want first. When you want something,
you desire to do it or have it, Like I
want a burger for lunch, Yeah, that's my desire. Or
I want to learn how to read and write Japanese.
That's why I'm taking lessons. I really want you to
get something out of the lessons here on the podcast.
That's want. It's how we talk about our basic desires.
Hope has a deeper meaning than want. Hope is more
of a feeling of desire and expectation. When you hope
for something, you both want it to and you also
believe that it's possible to happen. Like I hope I
can get a good score on the exam. Let's see,
I've attended all the lectures and completed all of my assignments.
I hope I can get a good score. I believe
it's possible. Hey, you're going to Tokyo on vacation. I
hope you have a great time. I can use hope
because I believe it's possible. I hope the Yankees win
the game tonight. If they do, they'll be in the finals.
And as you probably noticed, we use the simple present
tense after hope. I hope I pass the exam. I
hope you have a nice vacation. I hope that makes sense.
On the other hand, we use the verb wish when
we want to something to happen, but that thing is
either not likely to happen or it's just impossible. In
other words, we use wish for things that we really
don't expect to happen, even though we want them to happen.
A wish is like an impossible dream. Do you remember
the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp. Aladdin finds
the lamp, rubs it, and the genie comes out. And
what did the genie say? He told Aladdin that he
will grant him three wishes. Only a genie can give
you what you wish, Like I wish I were taller. Yeah,
when I was a kid, I used to say that
all the time, and maybe it was possible then, but
not anymore now that I'm an adult. Right, And how
about this one? I wish I had a million dollars?
How many times have I thought that one? Did you
notice the grammar with wish we use the past tense.
I wish I were taller, I wish I had a
million bucks. In English, we tend to use the past
tense for imaginary situations. Let's sum up what we have
so far. When you want something, you desire it. When
you hope for something, you want it and you believe
it's possible. And when you wish for something, it's like
you want it, but you know that it's really not
gonna happen, like a dream. And by the way, we
also use the word wish as a greeting, like we
wish you a merry Christmas, or congratulations on your wedding.
I wish you a lifetime of happiness as a greeting.
A wish is not something that's not possible, it's just
kind of a classic formal style of speaking. Keep in
mind the best way to remember vocabulary like this and
any other word or phrase in English is to take
that word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's
true for you or true in your world, and then
memorize your sentences. By the way, can you imagine getting
the chance to practice this kind of English with me directly?
You can get more practice using your English when you
join my podcast Learner's study group. There you can make
new friends, join us for live group lessons every week
where we practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get
access to the PDA transcript and audio download for every
Happy English podcast in the past and in the future.
And on top of that, each episode has exercises where
you can practice this English point with speaking and writing
checked by me. To learn more, just visit Myhappy English
dot com and choose podcast lesson seven seventy seven. Remember,
learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible,
and I'm here to help you on your journey.
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English by leading us a review. Get English, Get Happy,
Happy English.