i wish you were here with me

benimle seni burada dilerim

I think that says I wish you here with me - how do I get the "were" in there??

Would it be better to use dilerim or isterim??

Thank you in advance to all corrections and help

 Just my try-but maybe you could use ´keþke´ which gives the meaning ´I wish´ or ´if only´

Keþke benimle burada olsaydýn.

Otherwise you have to use ´olduðunu´ somehow.

Wait for the ´clevers´

 Keþke burada benimle olsaydýn

or

Burada benimle olmaný dilerdim (isterdim)

"I wish" can bu used for both "dilerdim (isterdim)" and "keþke".

If you use "keþke" you must add -se or -sa to the verb root

If you use the other one, you must add -meni or -maný, and -diðini or -duðunu to the verb root

 thanks to both of you for your help.

will I ever get the hang of this?

Eventually!