Wish or hope

We use the word 'hope' to talk about possible situations that we desire in the future, the present and the past. 

"I hope you had a lovely dinner at the restaurant last night."

"I hope we win the footy game tomorrow."

"I hope he’s not late."

We use 'wish' to talk about situations that we desire, but that are unlikely because of current circumstances or because we can't change what's happened in the past. 

"I wish I could go to Australia."

"I wish I hadn’t gone to the beach on the weekend. I got badly sunburnt."

"I wish I had worked harder when I was in university."

We also use 'wish' with a noun that describes the things that we desire for other people.

"I wish you all the best for your long trip away."

"We wish you a merry Christmas."

"We wish you good health and happiness for the New Year."

We also use ‘wish’ when we want to make a formal request. In this case, ‘wish’ is used with ‘to’. 

Here, 'I wish to', is a more formal way of saying 'I want to'.

"I wish to see the store manager."

"They wish to meet their fans."

"I wish to see the principal as soon as possible please."