I wish I knew who you are vs I wish I knew who you were

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'I wish I knew who you are' is used when referring to someone's current identity, while 'I wish I knew who you were' is used when referring to someone's past identity or a hypothetical situation. The choice between 'are' and 'were' depends on the tense and the context of the conversation.

Last updated: March 29, 2024 • 1581 views

I wish I knew who you are

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to someone's current identity.

This phrase is used when you want to express a wish about knowing the current identity of someone. It is used in present tense.

Examples:

I wish I knew who you are, so I could thank you properly.
I wish I knew who you are, but you seem familiar.
I wish I knew who you are, so I could introduce you to my friends.

Show examples from the web [+]

I wish I knew who they thought I was.
I wish I knew who wrote those notes.
I wish I knew who your daddy was.
I wish I knew who they thought I was.
I wish I knew who was doing it.
I wish I knew who my father was.
I wish I knew who they were.
Senora, I wish I knew who you were and what your name is.
I wish I knew who was doing it.
Ahh. I wish I knew who my birth mother was so she could just tell me who to choose.
I wish I knew who these other tags belonged to.
Wish I knew who he was waving at.
Oooooh, I wish I knew, I wish I knew.
There's stuff I wish I knew.
Well, I wish I knew, sir.
I wish I knew what you were up to yesterday.
TIM: I wish I knew the answer to that, Stephen.
I wish I knew he was that depressed.
I wish I knew a guy like that.
I wish I knew what happened to him.

Alternatives:

I wish I knew who you are.
I wish I knew your identity.
I wish I knew your name.
I wish I knew more about you.
I wish I knew who you really are.

I wish I knew who you were

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to someone's past identity or a hypothetical situation.

This phrase is used when you want to express a wish about knowing someone's past identity or in a hypothetical context. It is used in past tense.

Examples:

I wish I knew who you were when we were in school together.
I wish I knew who you were before all this happened.
I wish I knew who you were pretending to be.

Show examples from the web [+]

Senora, I wish I knew who you were and what your name is.
I wish I knew who they thought I was.
I wish I knew who wrote those notes.
I wish I knew who your daddy was.
I wish I knew who they thought I was.
I wish I knew who was doing it.
I wish I knew who my father was.
I wish I knew who they were.
I wish I knew who was doing it.
Ahh. I wish I knew who my birth mother was so she could just tell me who to choose.
I wish I knew who these other tags belonged to.
Wish I knew who he was waving at.
Oooooh, I wish I knew, I wish I knew.
There's stuff I wish I knew.
Well, I wish I knew, sir.
I wish I knew what you were up to yesterday.
TIM: I wish I knew the answer to that, Stephen.
I wish I knew he was that depressed.
I wish I knew a guy like that.
I wish I knew what happened to him.

Alternatives:

I wish I knew who you were.
I wish I knew your past identity.
I wish I knew who you used to be.
I wish I knew who you were back then.
I wish I knew who you really were.

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I wish I knew who you are vs I wish I knew who you were