I wish I ________ her before we met.
- (a)know
- (b)have known
- (c)knew
- (d)known
Answer
C
Why
Correct — C, knew. After 'I wish', the verb shifts back into the past to express something contrary to fact, so the simple-past 'knew' is the form required — 'I wish I knew her' — and it is the only correctly back-shifted option offered.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)know — The present-tense 'know' does not back-shift after 'wish', which needs a past form.
- (b)have known — The present-perfect 'have known' also fails to back-shift; 'wish' does not take a present-perfect here.
- (d)known — 'Known' is a bare past participle needing an auxiliary (as in 'had known'); on its own after 'I wish I' it is ungrammatical.
Concept
Grammar cloze on 'wish' clauses: 'wish' back-shifts the following verb into the past (I wish I knew …).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
I wish I ______ taller.
- (a)am
- (b)be
- (c)were
- (d)been
Answer(c) were — after 'wish', 'be' back-shifts to the subjunctive 'were'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
I wish I ______ how to swim.
- (a)know
- (b)knew
- (c)have known
- (d)known
Answer(b) knew — 'wish' takes the simple-past form.