Wish Doing vs. Wish To Do
Oxford documents wish-clause patterns and formal/polite wish + to-infinitive. A bare gerund after “wish” is not a like-for-like alternative, so the guide separates infinitive use from clause use.
Use “wish to do” in formal or polite statements of desire. For unreal or unlikely situations, “wish” more often introduces a clause; bare “wish doing” is not the standard parallel complement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Context | Use | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| formal or polite statement of desire | wish to do | Use “wish + to-infinitive.” |
| unreal, regretted, or unlikely situation | wish + clause | Use a clause such as “I wish I knew.” |
| trying to use bare “wish doing” as the parallel complement | avoid | That is not the standard parallel complement supported by the reviewed evidence. |
Quick tests
Decision test
Are you making a formal/polite statement that you want to perform an action?
If yes: Use “wish to + verb.”
If no: For unreal or unlikely situations, use “wish” with an appropriate clause.
Caveat: Do not infer a free “wish + -ing” complement merely because other verbs can take gerunds.
Examples
I wish to speak with the manager.
“Wish to” expresses a formal desire to act.
We wish to confirm the revised date.
The to-infinitive is standard in a formal statement of desire.
I wish I knew the answer.
An unreal present situation is expressed with a clause, not bare “wish doing.”
Further guidance
Clause Boundary
Use a wish-clause construction for unreal, unlikely, regretted, or desired situations rather than forcing those meanings into the infinitive pattern.
Decision
Do not treat bare “wish doing” as the standard gerund counterpart of “wish to do.”
To Infinitive
Use wish + to-infinitive for a formal or polite expression of wanting to perform an action.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- wish — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Wish clause patterns and wish to do in formal/polite uses
- Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences