There are three distinct types of I wish / if only sentences:-

1 - REGRETS with the PAST PERFECT (the third conditional) e.g. I wish I hadn't got so
angry.
2 - WANTING CHANGE FOR THE PRESENT OR FUTURE with the PAST SIMPLE e.g. I
wish I had enough money to go to Mozambique this summer.
3 - COMPLAINTS with WOULD + INFINITIVE e.g. I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the
time.

Regrets

1 I wish I ___________________ drunk and kissed Samantha. (get NEGATIVE)

2 I wish it ___________________ so much. The garden's turned to mud. (rain NEGATIVE)

3 If only I ___________________ there, I wouldn't have got a fine. (park NEGATIVE)

Wanting change

4 If only I ___________________ more time for my hobbies. (have)

5 I wish it ___________________ more often in Valencia. (rain)

6 I wish I ___________________ to go to your nephew's wedding. (have NEGATIVE)

Complaints

7 I wish you ___________________ so much. You're a complete idiot when you're drunk.
(drink NEGATIVE)

8 If only it ___________________ . The garden's as dry as a bone. (rain)

9 I wish Samantha ___________________ her hair more often. It looks so greasy all the
time. (wash)

Mixed

10 I wish you ___________________ so horrible to your brother. He's a really nice bloke. (be
NEGATIVE)

11 I wish the council ___________________ that beautiful old house. It was part of the
town's heritage. (demolish NEGATIVE)

12 If only I ___________________ the money to go to Jon's wedding in The States. (have)

13 I wish I ___________________ her she'd put on weight. She hates me now. (tell
NEGATIVE)

14 I wish you ___________________ to your mother like that. (speak NEGATIVE)

15 If only we ___________________ a Hewlett Packard printer. The cartridges are so

expensive. (buy NEGATIVE)

16 I wish Jorge ___________________ so fast. It's only a matter of time before he kills
someone. (drive NEGATIVE)

Write a suitable reply for these situations. You can find the solutions below.
1. A friend wants you to drive him home. You don't have a car.
If ...
I wish ...
2. Peter eats lots of fast food. He isn´t healthy.
If you ...
3. You had an argument with a friend. Then she had a party and didn't invite you.
If ...
I wish ...
4. It's your best friend birthday, but you don't have any money to buy him a present.
If ...
I wish ...
If only ...
5. Your sister is always chatting on the Internet. Your father gets angry with her.
If ...
6. You forgot to phone Carol and she didn't go to your birthday party.
If ...
I wish ...
If only ...
7. Your house is very small.
I wish ...
If only ...
8. You watch too much television. You don't have much time to study. Your mother says:
If ...
I wish ...
If only ...
9. You are in Germany. You can't speak German.
I wish ...
If only ...
10. Your father has to work next Saturday. He can't take you to Las Palmas.
If ...
I wish ...
If only ...

11. "It may rain this evening"."Ok. We'll stay at home, then".
If ...
12. "Hurry up! We'll be late!"
Unless ...

13. Your little sister is making an annoying noise.

I wish ...
14. You didn't listen to your parents and you got into trouble.
If ...
I wish ...
If only ...
15. You want to go to the beach but it's raining.
I wish ...
If only ...
There are three distinct types of I wish / if only sentences:-
1 - REGRETS with the PAST PERFECT (the third conditional) e.g. I wish I hadn't got so
angry.
2 - WANTING CHANGE FOR THE PRESENT OR FUTURE with the PAST SIMPLE e.g. I
wish I had enough money to go to Mozambique this summer.
3 - COMPLAINTS with WOULD + INFINITIVE e.g. I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the
time.

1. Regrets

1 I wish I hadn't got drunk and kissed Samantha.

2 I wish it hadn't rained so much. The garden's turned to mud.

3 If only I hadn't parked there, I wouldn't have got a fine.

2. Wanting change

4 If only I had more time for my hobbies.

5 I wish it rained more often in Valencia.

6 I wish I didn't have to go to your nephew's wedding.

3. Complaints

7 I wish you wouldn't drink so much. You're a complete idiot when you're drunk.

8 If only it would rain. The garden's as dry as a bone.

9 I wish Mary would wash her hair more often. It looks so greasy all the time.

Mixed.

10 I wish you weren't so horrible to your brother. He's a really nice bloke.

11 I wish the council hadn't demolished that beautiful old house. It was part of the town's
heritage.

12 If only I had the money to go to Jon's wedding in The States.

13 I wish I hadn't told her she'd put on weight. She hates me now.

14 I wish you wouldn't speak to your mother like that.

15 If only we hadn't bought a Hewlett Packard printer. The cartridges are so expensive.

16 I wish Jorge wouldn't drive so fast. It's only a matter of time before he kills someone.

1. A friend wants you to drive him home. You don't have a car.
If I had a car, I would/could drive you home.
I wish I had a car.
2. Peter eats lots of fast food. He isn´t healthy.
If you didn’t eat lots of fast food, you would be healthy.
3. You had an argument with a friend. Then she had a party and didn't invite you.
If I hadn’t had an argument with my friend, she would have invited me.
 I wish I hadn’t had an argument with my friend.
4. It's your best friend birthday, but you don't have any money to buy him a present.
If I had some money, I would buy him a present.
I wish I had some money.
If only I had some money!
5. Your sister is always chatting on the Internet. Your father gets angry with her.
If my sister weren’t / wasn’t always chatting on the Internet, my father wouldn’t get
angry with her
6. You forgot to phone Carol and she didn't go to your birthday party.
If I hadn’t forgotten to phone Carol, she would have gone to my birthday party.
I wish I hadn’t forgotten to phone Carol.
If only I hadn’t forgotten to phone Carol!
7. Your house is very small.
I wish my house were/was bigger.
I wish I had a bigger house.
If only my house were/was bigger! If only I had a bigger house!
8. You watch too much television. You don't have much time to study. Your mother says:
If you didn’t watch too much television, you would have more time to study.
I wish you didn’t watch so much television.
If only you didn’t watch so much television!
9. You are in Germany. You can't speak German.
I wish I could speak German. If only I could speak German.
10. Your father has to work next Saturday. He can't take you to Las Palmas.
If he didn’t have to work, he would/could take me to Las Palmas.
I wish he didn’t have to work.
If only he didn’t have to work!
11. "It may rain this evening". "Ok. We'll stay at home, then".
If it rains this evening, we’ll stay at home.
12. "Hurry up! We'll be late!"
Unless you hurry up, we’ll be late.
13. Your little sister is making an annoying noise.
I wish she would stop making that noise.
14. You didn't listen to your parents and you got into trouble.
If I had listened to my parents, I wouldn’t have got into trouble.
I wish I had listened to my parents.
If only I had listened to my parents!
15. You want to go to the beach but it's raining.
I wish it weren’t/wasn’t raining.
If only it weren’t/wasn’t raining!