Questions & Answers about Вот бы этот бутон раскрылся к выходным.
What does вот бы mean here?
Вот бы is a very common way to express a strong wish, often with an emotional tone.
In this sentence, it means something like:
- If only ...
- I wish ...
- Wouldn’t it be nice if ...
So Вот бы этот бутон раскрылся к выходным expresses hope or longing, not a plain statement of fact.
A rough feeling in English is:
- If only this bud opened by the weekend.
- I wish this bud would open by the weekend.
The word вот by itself often means here is / there is, but in вот бы it works as part of this wish-expression and should be understood as a set phrase.
Why is раскрылся in a past-tense-looking form if the sentence is about the future?