FluencyLab
GrammarHub
Use wish/if only with past forms to express dissatisfaction now, past regrets and desired changes in behavior.
Overview
Use wish/if only with past forms to express dissatisfaction now, past regrets and desired changes in behavior.
Form and rules
Wish/if only + past simple expresses an unreal present situation: I wish I had more time.
Wish/if only + past perfect expresses regret about the past: I wish I'd studied harder.
Wish + would can express a desired change in someone/something's repeated behavior or a situation outside the speaker's control.
Wish + could expresses a desired ability or possibility: I wish I could drive.
If only is generally stronger or more emotional than wish.
A closer look
Wish + could expresses a desired ability or possibility: I wish I could drive.
If only is generally stronger or more emotional than wish.
Examples
I wish I lived closer to work.
If only I'd checked the address.
I wish the neighbors would turn the music down.
She wishes she could speak Japanese.
If only we hadn't missed the train.
Common mistakes
A present unreal situation uses a past form after wish.
Past regret uses wish + past perfect.
Ready to practise?
The test combines multiple choice, gap completion, error correction, and sentence building so students have to recognise and produce the grammar, not simply reread the rule.