Wishes and Regrets in English
We talk about wishes and regrets to say what we’d like to be different in the past or present.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to express your own wishes and regrets.
How to express wishes and regrets?
We can use ‘wish’ and ‘if only’ to express wishes and regrets.
Wish/If only Structures
- I wish/If only + subject + past simple = to talk about things you’d like to be different now or in the future. Usually for very unlikely or impossible situations.
- I wish/If only + subject + past perfect = to talk about things that did happen in the past and you regret.
- I wish/If only + subject + would + infinitive = to talk about things that annoy us and we want them to change or stop. Don’t talk about yourself here, only other people.
Wish vs If only
- They are both the same, only ‘if only’ adds more emphasis.
Examples
I wish I were taller than my brother.
I wish I had quit my job sooner, I love travelling.
I wish you would drive slower, it's dangerous.
Practise
Fill the gap with the correct verb form.
Common mistakes learners make
- Using past simple instead of past perfect for past regrets
- Using would for present situations
Common mistakes learners make
- Using past simple instead of past perfect for past regrets
- Using would for present situations