In English, you can sometimes use past tenses to be less direct and more polite.

在英語中，你有時可以使用過去時態，以減少直接和禮貌。

I wanted to ask you something.

我想問你一些事情。

I hoped you'd make lunch.

我希望你能做午飯。

This isn't the past.

這不是過去。

I want to ask you something now, and I still hope you'll make my lunch.

我現在想問你一件事，我還是希望你能給我做午飯。

But it's less direct, using a continuous tense consume, less permanent on also less direct.

但它不太直接，用的是連續的時態消耗，不太長久上也不太直接。

I'm thinking you should buy the ingredients.

我想你應該買原料。

I'm not planning to help you to really distance yourself.

我並不打算幫你真正拉開距離。

You can do both.

你可以兩者兼得。

I was hoping you were going to make dessert.

我希望你能做甜點。

I was expecting you to do the washing up.

我還以為你會洗衣服呢。

I'm being unreasonable, but I'm using past and continuous tenses as distancing to sound polite while I do it.

我是無理取鬧，但我一邊用過去式和連續式作為疏遠，聽起來很有禮貌。

And now I'm really hungry.

現在我真的餓了。