Lesson 39 I wish I could

ポイント
Some English phrases can be very easy to misunderstand. Sandra gives one example.

ダイアログ
Satoshi: I’m going to have a birthday party on Friday night. Can you attend?
Sandra: I wish I could.
Satoshi: Okay. I hope to see you there.

解説
Satoshi thinks Sandra might attend his party because she didn’t give a negative answer. But although Sandra wants to go to Satoshi’s party, she actually can’t. We wish for impossible or unlikely things, so we use “I wish I could” to describe things we want to do but cannot. On the other hand, we hope for possible things and say “I hope I can” for things we might be able to do. Satoshi misunderstands “I wish I could” to mean “I hope I can,” so he thinks Sandra might attend his party. Satoshi should reply by saying, “That’s a shame” or “Oh well.” I hope my explanation is clear.