Wish and if only
I wish I knew, I wish I had known, I wish you would stop: wishes about now, regrets about the past, and if only.
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We use wish to say that we want a situation to be different from what it really is. The verb after wish moves one step back into the past, as in the second and third conditionals: a past form for now, the past perfect for the past. If only means the same but is stronger.
Wish about | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
now | wish + past simple or could | I wish I knew the answer. |
the past | wish + past perfect | I wish I had known. |
someone's actions | wish + would + verb | I wish you would listen. |
Wish + past simple: the present
For a situation now that you would like to change, use the past simple. The meaning is present.
- I wish I knew her phone number.
(I don't know it.)
- I wish we lived closer to the sea.
- I wish I had more free time.
- I wish it wasn't so cold today.
The wish is the opposite of the fact. If the fact is negative, the wish is positive, and the other way round: I don't have a car, and I wish I had one. I have to work tomorrow, and I wish I didn't.
- Incorrect: It's a pity I don't speak Spanish. I wish I speak it.
- Correct: It's a pity I don't speak Spanish. I wish I spoke it.A wish about now takes the past simple, not the present.
After I, he, she and it, were is common in careful English and was in everyday speech: I wish I were taller. / I wish I was taller.
Wish + could: ability
For something you can't do, use could + verb.
- I wish I could swim.
- I wish I could come to your party, but I'm working.
- Incorrect: I wish I can stay longer.
- Correct: I wish I could stay longer.Can moves back to could after wish.
Wish + past perfect: regrets about the past
For something that happened, or didn't happen, and that you regret now, use the past perfect.
- I wish I had studied harder at school.
- I wish I hadn't said that. It was stupid.
- She wishes she had taken the job in London.
- Incorrect: I wish I didn't eat so much at dinner last night.
- Correct: I wish I hadn't eaten so much at dinner last night.The regret is about the past, so use the past perfect.
Wish + would: things you want someone to change
Wish + would + verb says that you want someone or something to behave differently. It often sounds annoyed or impatient.
- I wish you would stop interrupting me.
- I wish he wouldn't leave his clothes on the floor.
- I wish it would stop raining.
Would is about actions and events, not states, and we don't usually use it about ourselves. For a state, use the past simple.
- Incorrect: I wish I would be taller.
- Correct: I wish I were taller.Being tall is a state, so use the past simple, not would.
If only: a stronger wish
If only works like wish, with the same forms. It sounds more emotional and often ends with an exclamation mark.
- If only I had more money!
- If only you had told me earlier.
- If only the bus would come.
Other ways to say it
It's a pity and I'm sorry are followed by the real tense, not a past one. Compare:
- It's a pity I can't come. = I wish I could come.
- I'm sorry I didn't call you. = I wish I had called you.
- I regret not calling you. (more formal)
Wish + to, and wish someone something
Wish + to + verb is a formal way to say want: I wish to speak to the manager. With a person and a noun, wish means "hope someone has": We wish you a happy New Year. I wished her luck.
- Incorrect: I wish you will have a great holiday.
- Correct: I hope you have a great holiday. / I wish you a great holiday.For a future you think is possible, use hope. Wish + a sentence is for things you want to be different.