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I wish/if only

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Created on October 9, 2023

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Transcript

I wish/If only...

Some examples...

I WISH/IF ONLY + PAST SIMPLE

wishes about the present and future

We use 'wish' + past simple to express that we want a situation in the present (or future) to be different. Ex.: I wish I spoke Italian. (I don't speak Italian.) I wish I had a big car. (I don't have a big car.) I wish I was on a beach. (I'm in the office.) Future: I wish it was the weekend tomorrow. (It's only Thursday tomorrow.)

What does the old man see in the mirror? What is he thinking?

I wish/if only + past simple

We use this structure to express a desire for a situation that does not exist right now in the present. This unreal situation is expressed in the simple past. In a wish sentence, the simple past does not indicate past time; it only indicates that the situation is unreal.

Were is used for both singular and plural subjects in a formal context Ex.: I wish/if only he were younger, but he’s not. He is old.

"That" is optional. Ex.: I wish/if only (that) I lived in the countryside, but I don’t. I live in a city.

Time to practise!

I WISH/IF ONLY + would + base form of the verb

wishes about someone else's behaviour

We use 'wish' + would + base form of the verb to talk about what other people do or an event that annoys or irritates us and that we wish was different.Ex.: I wish you would stop smoking. (You are smoking at the moment and it is annoying me.) I wish it would stop raining. (I'm impatient because it is raining and I want to go outside.) I wish she'd be quiet. (I am annoyed because she is speaking)

Time to practise!

I WISH/IF ONLY + past perfect (had + past participle)

wishes about the past

We use 'wish' + past perfect to talk about regrets from the past. These are things that have already happened but we wish they had happened in a different way.Ex.: I wish I hadn't eaten so much. (I ate a lot.) I wish they'd come on holiday with us. (They didn't come on holiday with us.) I wish I had studied harder at school. (I was lazy at school.)

Time to practise!You'r re going to watch a video of a song Mistakes of my Youth by the American rock band Eels. In this video, the singer thinks back on his childhood and all the things he did wrong. Watch the video and write down as many I wish/if only + past perfect sentences they can think of based on the video.

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