Why do grammar rules suggest using past tense in wishes about the present or future, like "I wish you were here"?

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The rules are asking you to use a past FORM, not a past TENSE. Form in …

English for Students • 172.8K followers Ask us anything about English. We'll do our best to answer you in detail.   Why do grammar rules suggest using past tense in wishes about the present or future, like "I wish you were here"? Veronica Curlette, Teaching English for a very long time Answered November 17   The rules are asking you to use a past FORM, not a past TENSE. Form in grammar means what a word looks like. Tense means what time a verb is referring to. Many words in Englis... Read more »     Can you explain why we don't use numbers or "the" when talking about categories with plural nouns, like in "Animals are amazing"? Francesca Colloridi, lives in Milan, Italy (1970-present) Answered November 1   When you express a general statement - as you do when you talk about general categories - you don't use articles if you employ a plural noun. See your example. I love dogs, ... Read more »     Why do we say 'in a month' but 'at 8 o’clock'? What's the rule for using 'in' and 'at' with time? Veronica Curlette, Teaching English for a very long time Answered November 10   Prepositions are tricky for language learners. This is because they are idiomatic. That means that these grammar features are language-specific and intrinsic. When we learn... Read more »   Read more in English for Students

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