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TOEIC Part 5 Grammar

Why “I Hope You Would Come” Is Wrong on TOEIC

Hope, wish and regret can all express attitude or feeling, but they take different verb patterns because they describe different time and reality relationships.

Use the meaning of the whole sentence, not a one-word shortcut, to choose the form.

Start with time and reality

In standard English, hope normally describes an outcome that is still open or possible. Wish often imagines a present situation that is different from reality or a past situation that cannot now be changed. Regret can describe feeling sorry about a past action, or it can introduce formal bad news.

Standard-English check: ask whether the sentence describes an open possibility, an unreal/different situation, a past regret, or a formal announcement. The verb form follows that meaning.

For the broader unreal-condition system, see TOEIC Grammar: Conditionals. For a focused review of condition/result signals, see If Sentence Traps.

Hope: an open possibility

After hope, standard English often uses a present form even when the meaning is future: I hope she gets the job; I hope he arrives on time. Forms with can or will are also possible when their meanings fit: I hope you can come; I hope you will enjoy the seminar.

Do not turn this into “hope never takes would.” For an ordinary direct future hope, a present form, can or will is usually the clearer pattern. But would can appear naturally in other frames, for example I hoped you would come or I was hoping you would stay.

So the standalone sentence I hope you would come to the event is not the ordinary direct future-hope pattern taught on this page. In that meaning, I hope you can come or I hope you will come is clearer.

Wish: imagine a different reality

Present or future unreal situation

I wish I had more time.

She wishes she spoke French.

I wish I was/were more confident.

Past situation you cannot change

I wish I had known about the meeting.

He wishes he had studied more before the exam.

With a present unreal wish, English commonly uses a past form. With a wish about a completed past situation, use the past perfect.

Another real pattern: wish + would can express a desired change or annoyance, especially about someone else’s behaviour: I wish he would reply. That is different from an ordinary future hope.

Regret: the following form changes the meaning

regret + -ing

Use this for an action you feel sorry about: He regrets not applying earlier.

I regret informing them so late can be grammatical if you mean that you are sorry about the act of informing them.

regret + to-infinitive

Use this formal pattern when introducing unfortunate news: We regret to inform you that...

This is a common business-notice expression.

Meaning matters: I regret informing you... is not automatically wrong. It means something different from the formal announcement pattern I regret to inform you....

Four-question self-check

These items test an ordinary direct hope, a present unreal wish, a formal first notification and a past unreal wish. They do not test reported hope, polite was hoping ... would frames, or wish + would annoyance.

1. I hope the manager ___ the updated document by noon.

would sendsendssendingsent

Not in this scoped item. Would can occur with hope in other frames, but this is an ordinary direct present/future hope.

Correct. A present form can follow hope even when the hoped-for event is in the future.

Not this time. The clause needs a finite verb after the subject the manager.

Not this time. The sentence is framed as a current hope about an open outcome, not a completed past event.

2. I wish I ___ more confident during interviews.

amwill bewashad

Not this time. A present unreal wish normally shifts to a past form.

Not this time. Standard English does not normally use wish + will be for this present unreal state.

Correct. Was is a standard option for this present unreal wish; were is also standard but is not one of the choices.

Not this time. Had by itself does not complete the adjective phrase more confident.

3. Before sending the applicant the first notification, the company prepared this formal sentence: “We regret ___ you that your request has been declined.”

informinformingto informinformed

Not this time. The formal announcement pattern requires a to-infinitive.

Not in this context. Regret + -ing describes regret about an action; the sentence is explicitly the first formal notification.

Correct. We regret to inform you that... is the formal pattern for introducing unfortunate news.

Not this time. A past-tense form cannot directly follow regret in this structure.

4. He now wishes he ___ more fluent in English before he moved abroad last year.

iswaswill behad been

Not this time. The wish concerns a completed past period before last year’s move.

Not this time. A simple past form is used for a present unreal wish; this sentence points to an earlier completed past situation.

Not this time. The move is explicitly in the past.

Correct. A wish about a past situation that cannot now be changed uses the past perfect.

A better decision order

1. Is the outcome still open?

Use hope when the outcome is possible or not yet known.

2. Is reality different?

Use a past form after wish for a present unreal situation.

3. Is the wish about the past?

Use the past perfect when you wish a completed past situation had been different.

4. What does regret mean here?

Distinguish regret about an action from a formal bad-news announcement.

If this mistake keeps repeating

One missed item is not enough to establish a Learning Block. If the same tense/reality decision keeps breaking down across several questions or timed sets, review the grammar pattern and your checking order.

Review your Learning Blocks Check your TOEIC study plan

Continue with broader grammar practice

This page focuses on hope, wish and regret. The MTC TOEIC Grammar Drills provide broader continued Part 5-style grammar practice.

Continue with TOEIC Grammar Drills