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Is there a big difference between those 2 sentences

I wish I were with you and I wish I could be with you

the first one means I would like to be with you but that is not possible and the second means I would like to be with you not now but in the future..... So both express the fact that is not possible for me to be with you now

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  • could refers explicitly to the impossibility. The speaker cannot be with the other person for some unstated reason. were on the other hand refers merely to the situation-contrary-to-fact: "I am not with you now and I wish that I were with you" versus "I can't be with you now and I wish that I could be with you now".
    – TimR
    Dec 4, 2016 at 11:44

2 Answers 2

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I wish I were with you.

I wish I could be with you.

Both sentences indicate a hypothetical situation, but there's a big difference in these sentences in terms of tenses.

The former expresses a wish for the present, whereas the latter with the use of the modal "could" expresses a wish for the future.

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In first sentence, it is not possible to be with the person anymore. There is no chance. (the action is happening now) But in the second one there is still a chance!(refers to future)

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