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In an example that Swan provided, he used to be in a that-clause after a wish. Here is an example:

All the staff wish you weren't leaving so soon.

My question is, could we use to do rather than to be there?

All the staff wish you didn't leave so soon.

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    Your 2nd example doesn't sound acceptable to me (AmE speaker), especially not for the same meaning as in your 1st example. I'd be expecting to hear something like: "All the staff wish (that) you didn't have to leave so soon."
    – F.E.
    Commented Oct 25, 2014 at 8:40
  • @F.E. that's what I thought as well although I'm not an AmE speaker but the first sounds like something I'd say over the second.
    – Scarl
    Commented Oct 25, 2014 at 9:33
  • Why do you replace my there to here? It's not clear to me.
    – Dmitrii Bundin
    Commented Oct 25, 2014 at 18:19
  • @F.E. Why can't you say in the way of the 2nd example to express typical levaing so soon?
    – Dmitrii Bundin
    Commented Oct 27, 2014 at 19:23

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You cannot say All the staff wish you didn't leave so soon.

But you can say The staff wish you didn't have to leave so soon.

Also OK: *The boss wishes you wouldn't leave so early." or "The boss wishes you didn't leave so early".

In that final sentence, the difference between it and the OP's original example (All the staff wish you didn't leave so soon) lies in the difference between "so soon" and "so early".

That which is about to happen "soon" is a single occurrence in the future, whereas the boss is concerned with something that happens on a regular basis, your not staying in the office until later in the evening (American scenario).

I wish it didn't have to be this way, but you're fired. You never come into the office on weekends and you never stay later than 7PM. I let it be known that I wished you didn't leave the office so early. You ignored those hints. You'll never succeed here, Jones. All the staff may wish you weren't leaving so soon after being hired, but you set a bad example, and you have to go.

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All the staff wish (that) you weren't leaving so soon.

The sentence sounds perfectly natural and easy on the ear. All the staff is sad or feels sorry about the situation that you are leaving so soon.

All the staff wish (that) you didn't leave so soon.

This sentence doesn't sound good or make much sense. However, if we rephrase this sentence as follows, it may sound OK:

All the staff wish that you didn't have or need to leave so soon. Even then, the first sentence with "weren't" is preferable.

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If the staff wish that you weren't leaving so soon, then the factual situation is that you are leaving so soon. This is quite natural. The leaving soon is happening now or in the very near future.

If the staff wish that you didn't leave so soon, then the factual situation is that you leave soon. This is just about possible, using the present simple for a scheduled future, but it is far less likely than the present progressive.

If the staff wish that you didn't leave early every week, then the factual situation is that you leave early every week. This is natural. The leaving early is a regular occurrence.

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