WISHES AND REGRETS

Wanting to change the present

PRESENT SITUATIONS
Days are so short in winter I wish days were longer
She’s sorry she never wins a match She wishes she won a single match
He works very little I wish he worked harder

Regretting the past

PAST SITUATION
Very few people came to my party I wish more people had come
John failed his driving test Tom wishes he had passed his driving test
I got ill after eating lobster I wish I hadn’t eaten lobster

Complaining

ANNOYING BEHAVIOUR
You’re always asking for money! I wish you wouldn’t ask for money all the time
Stop playing the music so loud! I wish you wouldn’t play the music so loud
The students never pay attention to the teacher He wishes they would listen to him

-
TRANSFORM THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1.- I lent John my tennis racket and he 8.- The plane was delayed because there
broke it was a
I wish ... strike at the airport
I wished ...
2.- He is always breaking my things
I wish ... 9.- All my friends are on the beach
I wish ...
3.- Tom can’t speak French
He wishes ... 10.- He is telling stupid jokes all the time
Everybody wishes ...
4.- I don’t like the town where I live
I wish ... 11.- Susan has very little free time
She wishes ...
5.- Her husband never eats what she
cooks 12.- Everybody saw him fall down in the
She wishes ... middle
of the street
6.- I got sunburnt because I didn’t use He wished ...
sun cream
I wish ... 13.- She never locked her car and it was
robbed
7.- Mary’s wedding was a disaster She wishes ...
because it
rained torrentially 14.- TV programmes are always the
She wished ... same
People wish ...

15.- I forgot to water the plants and they

died
I wish ...
WRITE WISHES FOR THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING YOUR OWN WORDS:

1. Why do you always wear such horrible clothes?

2. Nobody told me you were ill.

3. Tom didn’t buy her a present. He was embarrassed.

4. Don’t touch my CDs, will you?

5. She’s sad because she lives alone.

6. My stomach hurts. I ate too much.

7. What a pity I can’t speak English!

8. I read less than I’d like.

9. He’d like to give up smoking but he can.

10. I get up very early. I hate it.

11. Why do you spend money on stupid things?

12. I’d like to have a better car.

13. I don’t like living in a big city.

14. It’s a pity I didn’t take a photo.

15. Don’t eat with your fingers!

16. We don’t see each other very often.

17. I should have bought size XL.

18. She’s sorry her children don’t study very hard.

 WISH IF ONLY IT’S TIME I’D RATHER

FACT WISH
I’m stupid I wish/If only I weren’t stupid
I don’t have any friends I wish/If only I had friends
He can’t swim He wishes he could swim

He never asks for my opinion I wish he would ask me sometimes

They’re always making fun of me I wish they would stop doing that

I’ve lost my pen I wish I had been more careful

They didn’t help me I wish they had helped me

He’s thirty and hasn’t got a job It’s time he found one
I don’t want you to go I’d rather you didn’t go

TRANSFORM THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1.- My sister’s son isn’t very clever.
She wishes …
2.- I overslept this morning and was late for work.
If only …
3.- She’s desperately shy.
She wishes …
4.- I don’t want you to drive so far in one day.
I’d rather …
5.- I’ve been given the sack.
If only …
6.- I want you to settle down and start studying for the exam
It’s high time …..
7.- You’re always complaining about everything.
I wish …
8.- He won’t apologise for breaking it.
I wish …
9.- She drank too much at the party.
She wishes …
10.- I want to give up smoking.
If only …
11.- Her father doesn’t want her to marry Peter.
Her father would rather …
12.- I had to lie to her.
If only …
13.- Everyday except us has got a computer these days.
It’s time …
14.- He couldn’t complete it on time.
He wished …
15.- She had her hair cut really short.
Now she wishes …
16.- My friends never pay attention when I speak.
I wish …
17.- I did what they told me to.
I wish …
18.- I wasn’t encouraged to be a writer.
 I wish …

WRITE WISHES FOR THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING YOUR OWN

WORDS:

1.- He doesn’t earn much money.

2.- They missed most of the film.

3.- Her husband is a successful businessman, but he does nothing but work

4.- He lost his job.

5.- The children were playing with matches and they set fire to the curtains.

6.- I’d like you to keep our holiday plans secret

7.- His girlfriend left him.

8.- I was very thoughtless.

9.- My alarm clock is always slow and I am often late for work.

10.- I never remember birthdays.

11.- You can’t sleep at night because your neighbours are very noisy

12.- He couldn’t get his university degree because of his laziness

13.- Susan has divorced after a half-year marriage.

14.- The boy hasn’t got any pets.

15.- I got back home rather late and my parents were worried.

16.- She’s always having argument with everyone.

17.- You’ve got an appointment in a quarter of an hour and you haven’t got dressed yet.

18.-You’re lost in the middle of the country.

19.- Everyone makes fun of him because he’s not very tall.

20.- Tom would like to be a doctor but he can’t stand the sight of blood.

21.- She lost a mot of weight with that diet.

22.- You’re old enough to learn your own living.

.

WISHES AND REGRETS

I live in a squalid flat. I’m out of work and on the dole. I didn’t have a good
education;
in fact, I left school at fifteen, and without any qualifications. I wrote about fifty
job applications and didn’t get a single job. I went for a lot of interviews, but I
don’t really know how to behave at interviews. I can’t answer their questions very
well.
I sit about at home every day, watching TV, and smoking. I get through about
forty cigarettes a day, so I don’t have enough money to go to football matches
any more. A friend of mine from school has got a job at a travel agent’s. He
travels all over the world for his holidays, and he’s always telling me about
wonderful trips to Spain and Greece. I’ve never been abroad! I’m so depressed. I
think the worst thing is having nothing to look forward to. I’m nineteen, and I
have a lifetime of nothing in front of me.

1. He wishes he lived somewhere nicer.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.
12.

PAGE 1

1. I wish I hadn’t lent it to him

2. I wish he wouldn’t break my things
3. He wishes he could speak French
4. I wish I didn’t live in this town
5. She wishes he would eat what she cools
6. I wish I had used sun cream
7. She wished it hadn’t rained
8. I wished there hadn’t been a strike
9. I wish I were on the beach with my friends
10. Everybody wishes he wouldn’t tell stupid jokes
11. She wishes she had more free time
12. He wished nobody had seen him fall down
13. She wishes she had locked her car
14. People wish TV programmes wouldn’t be always the same
15. I wish I had watered the plants

PAGE 2

1. I wish you would wear something nice

2. I wish somebody had told me you were ill
3. Tom wished he had bought her a present
4. I wish you would touch my CDs
5. She wishes she had someone to live with
6. I wish I had eaten less
7. I wish I could speak English
8. I wish I read more
9. He wishes he could give up smoking
10. I wish I didn’t have to get up early
11. I wish you wouldn’t spend money on stupid things
12. I wish I could afford a better car
13. I wish I lived in a small town
14. I wish I had taken a photo
15. I wish you wouldn’t eat with your fingers
16. I wish we could see each other more often
17. I wish I had bought size XL
18. She wished her children studied harder

PAGE 3

1. She wishes her son were cleverer

2. If only I hadn’t overslept
3. She wishes she weren’t so shy
4. I’d rather you didn’t drive so far in on day
5. If only I hadn’t been given the sack
6. It’s high time you settled down and started studying for the exam
7. I wish you wouldn’t complain about everything
8. I wish he would apologize for breaking it
9. She wishes she hadn’t drunk so much at the party
10. If only I could give up smoking
11. He father would rather she didn’t marry Peter.
12. If only I hadn’t lied to her
13. It’s time we got a computer
14. He wished he had been able to complete it on time
 15. Now she wishes she hadn’t cut it so short
16. I wish they would pay attention when I speak
17. I wish I hadn’t done what they told me
18. I wish I had been encouraged to be a writer

PAGE 4

1. He wishes he had a better-paid job

2. They wish they had arrived earlier
3. She wishes he had more time for her
4. He wishes he hadn’t argued with his boss
5. Their mother wishes she hadn’t left the matches there
6. I’d rather you didn’t say anything about our holiday plans
7. He wishes he had spent more time with her
8. I wish I had been more thoughtful
9. I wish I had a better alarm clock
10. I wish I had a better memory
11. I wish they lived somewhere else
12. He wishes he had studied harder
13. She wishes she hadn’t married
14. He wishes he had a dog
15. I wish I had phoned them
16. I wish she wouldn’t be so bad-tempered
17. It’s time you were ready
18. You wish you had brought a map with you
19. He wishes people wouldn’t be so rude
20. He wishes he weren’t so squeamish
21. She wishes she hadn’t started dieting
22. It’s time you got a job

PAGE 5

2. He wishes he had a job

3. He wishes he had studied harder at school
4. He wishes he had qualifications
5. He wishes he knew how to behave at interviews
6. He wishes he could answer questions properly
7. He wishes he didn’t smoke so much
8. He wishes he had more money
9. He wishes he could go to football matches
10. He wishes he could travel as his friend
11. He wishes he weren’t so depressed
12. He wishes he had something to look forward to