Grammar

Wish / If Only (Past)

'Wish' and 'if only' with the past perfect express regret about the past — a desire that something earlier had been different. They look back at choices that can no longer be changed.

Post

Level B2 Conditionals

Summary

'Wish' and 'if only' with the past perfect express regret about the past — a desire that something earlier had been different. They look back at choices that can no longer be changed.

Structure

wish / if only + subject + past perfect

Examples

I wish I had studied harder for the exam.
If only we hadn't sold the house.
She wishes she had said goodbye.
I wish I had never met him.

Common mistakes

• Using past simple for past regret: 'I wish I studied harder' (about a finished event) should be 'I wish I had studied'.
• Writing 'wish I would have': use 'wish I had'.

Related

Wish / If Only (Present)

More conditionals

First Conditional B1

Use the first conditional for real or likely situations in the future and their probable results.

Zero Conditional B1

Use the zero conditional for facts and things that are always true — when one thing happens, the result always follows.

Second Conditional B2

Use the second conditional for unreal, hypothetical, or unlikely situations in the present or future, and their imagined results.

Third Conditional B2

Use the third conditional to talk about imagined past situations that did not happen, and to express regret or criticism about the past.

Mixed Conditional C1

Use a mixed conditional when the time of the condition and the time of the result are different — for example, a past condition with a present result, or a present condition with a past result.

Wish / If Only (Present) B2

'Wish' and 'if only' with a past tense express a desire for a present situation to be different. The past form is unreal — it signals dissatisfaction with how things are now.

External links

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