I wish you were here now. (I regret the fact that the other person is NOT here) I wish I could speak Portuguese. (but you can't and you regret that) I wish it didn't rain every day. = You can also use Past continuous if your regret refers to an action in progress: | wish it weren't raining: | could go for a walk. (you can't go because it's raining now) + This pattern expresses deep regret about something that happened in the past; you would like to change the way things actually went, but you can't: I wish my sister hadn't told me that awful story. (but she did, and now I regret that) * You use this pattern when you want to express irritation about somebody's behaviour and you would like it to change from now on. I wish Fabrizio wouldn't smoke so many cigarettes. (he does smoke in fact) + In formal situations you use wish with the meaning of ‘want’; ‘wish’ takes the same structure as ‘want’ when it is followed by a verb or a clause. Study the examples: I wish to inform you that your application is currently under review. (= | want to inform you) I wish the manager to know what has just happened in his shop. (= | want the manager to know...) + Wish is also used to ‘offer good wishes' on special occasions. In this case itis followed by a noun: When there is a verb, you must use ‘hope! We wish you a Merry Christmas! (but: | hope you have a Merry Christmas) + Ifonly expresses strong wish, when you would like a situation to be different: itis followed by either Past simple or Past perfect and, more rarely, would + Base form. only | had more time, I'd see my brother. (wish | had more time NOW, | regret not having any) ifonly | hadn't lost my passport, | could be leaving now. (I wish | hadn't lost my passport, but | did) Wfonly you would stop telling lies, I'd trust what you say. (= but you DO tell lies so | don’t trust you) + only can also be used to begin exclamations: only | knew where | put the glasses! (I strongly wish | could find them) 1 Maich the sentences (1-6) to the ones on the right (a-f), which express the same feelings about the situation, 1 CI wish she wouldn't talk so much. 2 Too bad we lost the game! 2 CI wish 1'd won the match. b I'm fed up with this rain. 3 C1 I wish | weren't here. ¢ I'm not satisfied with the product. 4 CO Iwish it were sunny. d I'd love to stay longer. 5 C1 I wish to make a complaint. € I'd like her to stop talking. 6 O Iwish | wasn’t leaving. f I wish | hadn't come. 2 Read the situations and complete the sentences with the missing parts using wish. 0 Tom left his smartphone at home and now he needs to call his wife. He wishes he hadn't left it at home. 1 Its raining but Anna doesn't have an umbrella, She umbrella. 2 Emma and her sister would like to go to a party but they have a lot of homework to do. They the party iss‘ANA’S WORKSHOPS F SULA OPTION ESCA OMS 3. My brother keeps borrowing my pullovers without asking. | before borrowing my pullovers. 4 Elizabeth is scared because her husband is driving too fast. She 5 You've booked a table at the restaurant but you have a temperature. You a table at the restaurant. 6 You're taking an important exam and you know very few answers. You more answers. 3 Read the following letter of dismissal and complete the sentences that express Greg's regrets. Look at the example. Dear Mr Mason, As you know, effective teamwork is essential for success in the software industry. Although we have no doubts concerning your skills as a programmer, we have received countless complaints about your inability to work as part of a team. In addition to that you fail to meet deadlines, not to mention the fact that you are constantly late for work, although we have asked you to be more punctual several times. ‘Though we had several discussions with you and your teammates in the past few months, we have seen no improvement in your attitude or actions. As a consequence, we have decided to release you ftom our ‘employment. You are quite talented and may find some other job that is more suitable for you. ‘We wish you all the best. Yours sincerely, Ralph Tonnson Human Resources Manager 11 be late / often only | ha 11 try ! collaborate with / teammates 1 complete / my tasks J in time 11 change / my attitude after the warnings 1/ not argue / with my teammates / often I/ take / so many days off 1/-can speak with the HR manager / now 0 often! onnunso 4 (GE3 complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first using the word in brackets. You must use between 2 and 5 words. 1 He regrets not having a university degree. (graduated) He from university 2 Is she ever going to stop talking? (would) if talking! 3. It's pity | don’t speak a word of Greek. (wish) | Greek. 4 My boss is always asking me to work overtime. (ask) I wish me to work overtime. 5 You can't understand if | don't explain this. (only) if this, you would understand. 6 They can't afford to buy a house. (enough) They wish buy a house. 7 Iregret coming to this boring party. (only) if to this boring party! 8 Will you ever get to school on time? (would) 1 not be late for schoo! all the time. 5 4+ GED You will hear 5 people talking about their regrets. Choose from the list (A-H) what each speaker says. There are 3 extra letters you do not need to use. ‘A Lwish I had asked her phone number. F Ifonly had chosen to pursue my B_ I wish | hadn't spent all the time working aspirations as an artist. back then, G I wish | could spend more time on my hobby. CC Ifonly | had kept playing the violin. H_ I wish | could go back to being a stay-at- D_ Ifonly I could see her once again. home mom. E | wish I had given up that unusual career earlier Speaker 1[] Speaker 2[] Speaker 3] Speaker 4[] Speaker 5] 59 ysiM | BB LINN “quo ft