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I want to ask if I wish or desire to have something in the future, then is it correct grammatically to say

I wish I would go to that place in future?

But I have read somewhere that if you desire to happen something in present or future, you use hope to describe it.

e.g.

I hope to go to that place.

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    I wish is always about the future.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 20:19

2 Answers 2

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A future hope or desire is something you want and expect could reasonably happen in the future. Because it's really possible, we use normal future grammar:

"I hope Janice gets over the flu soon."

A wish or fantasy is something that you'd like to see happen in the future, but you don't consider it reasonably possible, so you're not at all expecting it. Since this is something essentially unreal, we use unreal grammar:

"I wish my manager would stop dumping work on me."

So, your question is asking for two different things, both something you think is possible, and something you don't think is possible. There's no grammatical way to express both in one sentence because they're opposites.

To your examples, the first, correctly phrased read like this: "I wish I could go to that place in the future" ("could", and no question mark), and means you don't expect you will ever be able to go there, but you want it.

The second is correct grammar, and means, "I want to go to that place in the future, and I believe it's a possibility."

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The difference between "wish" and "hope" or "would like" can be arbitrary. One definition I have read (which is not 100% authoritative), is that you hope for something that might in reality happen, but you wish for things that are mostly impossible or would involve a supernatural intervention.

"I would like to go to The Grand Canyon this summer."

"I hope to see the Grand Canyon one day."

"I wish I was hiking in the Grand Canyon right now."

"Wish" can also refer to a fervent hope or dream. Such as:

"It is my greatest wish to be a doctor one day."

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  • Like If I want to show a strong desire to move to the Canada and settle there permanently and obviously it is possible for anyone to move abroad then Could I say " I hope I'll move to the Canada one day in the future.
    – abdul wassey
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 20:16
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    @abdulwassey No, you would say: I hope TO MOVE to Canada one day.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 20:20
  • Lambie is right of course. It is "THE United States," or "THE United Kingdom, or "THE Grand Canyon." But for other places it is just "Canada," or "Mexico," or "Yellowstone National Park." Mostly the difference depends on if the name of the place could also be a description of a generic place. There are lots of grand canyons, but only one "THE Grand Canyon." Also, you can say "I hope I'll move," but as Lambie suggests, "I hope to move" is more common usage.
    – CaptainSkyfish
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 21:38
  • Thank you very much. I got it
    – abdul wassey
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 12:26
  • What does "can be arbitrary" mean? Is it arbitrarily arbitrary?
    – gotube ♦
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 17:27

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