"Eu gostaria que alguém me dissesse o que comer."

Translation: I would like someone to tell me what to eat.

[SaamShams]

Doesn't "eu gostaria que" = "I wish" ?

[Danmoller]

It's a valid translation too.

[deactivated user]

Davu: Your words:

"I would like it if" with "I wish"? That produces the odd translation: "I wish someone told me what to eat" (it sounds better with "had told" or "would tell".

I think that the original sentence means "I'd like someone to tell me what to eat". By using "I wish", the sentence goes from being indicative to subjunctive (irealis): "I wish someone would tell me what to eat".

Both "had told" and "would tell" are two examples of the subjunctive, representing an unrealized past event and an unlikely future action.

Your words:

"I see "someone tells me bedtime stories" as an attainable situation in the present. Crucially, I believe this situation can exist even when nobody is actually telling me a story."

If it's attainable, you can say: "I hope that someone will read me a bedtime story".

However, by saying "I wish", you are indicating that it is unlikely to happen.

"I wish I knew someone who would read bedtime stories to me at night." (you don't know any one). "Knew" is a subjunctive form.

[Davu]

Thank you. I think I understand. With wishes I should use "would tell" to talk about the future and the past perfect "had told" to talk about the past. That leaves wishes about the present which, in principle, needs the past tense (subjunctive) "told".

You are clearly unhappy with "I wish someone told me bedtime stories" even if it was spoken by someone who believed that a life devoid of storytelling is very likely. So giving the poor thing as much leeway as possible what finally decides that it is simply nonsense?

Anyway, we should agree on the best translation of the Portuguese sentence, and the winner is ...

[deactivated user]

Agreed.

Eu gostaria que alguém me dissesse o que comer.
I wish someone would tell me what to eat.

[Danmoller]

Well, well....if that's ok, it's ok. There goes my voting.

[deactivated user]

Não há problema. Ainda tem dia 26 para "cast your vote."

[j.alan.c]

Two years and counting, The Owl still won't accept it ...

[deactivated user]

It's cold here. He flew south.

[Danmoller]

Ouch, those carrier pigeons didn't find the owl in time. (Fixed, sorry for having completely forgotten this one)

Reading it all again, these two are fine answers:

• I would like someone to tell me what to eat
• I wish someone would tell me what to eat

[Danmoller]

Before voting....is this possible: "I would like that someone told me what to eat" ? (please pardon a non native speaker....)

[OKCole]

What's wrong with " ... someone tells me ..." instead of " .... someone to tell me..."?

[theraulshow]

i dont get why "i would like that someone would tell me what to eat" is not accepted