LEVEL Advanced 1

UNIT
2
LESSO
2 - I WISH YOU WOULDN’T DO
N THAT!

wish and if only + Past Simple

Use, Form & Examples

• Wish can be used with the past simple tense to talk about
desire for change in present or future situations. It is most
commonly used with the verbs be and have:
Don’t you wish you were a little bit fitter?
I wish we had more time, but we really have to be going now.
I wish I wasn’t so tired all the time.
• As with the 2nd conditional, when we use the verb be in
more formal English, we use were with I / he / she / it.
I wish he were a little bit more punctual.
I wish it were possible to extend the deadline; however, my
hands are tied.
• It’s possible to place the subject between if and only:
If I only had a car. I’m sure she’d go out with me.
If I only had a brain. (Scarecrow from the film The Wizard of
Oz)
• Note that if we are complaining about our own behaviour
or habits, it’s far more common to use could rather than
would. This is true for other occasions when the subject of
the first verb is the same as the subject of the second verb.
I wish I could stop smoking.
He wishes he could get up earlier in the mornings.

• If only has a similar meaning to I wish, although it is more

emphatic and little more dramatic:
If only we had another ten dollars.
If only they took credit cards.
We could call them if only we had their number.