Look at these examples to see how wish and if only are used.
That guy is so annoying! I wish he'd stop talking.
I wish I lived closer to my family.
If only I hadn't lost her phone number. She must think I'm so rude for not calling her.
I wish they wouldn't park their car in front of my house.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use wish and if only to talk about things that we would like to be different in either the present or the past. If only is usually a bit stronger than wish.
In the present
We can use wish/if only + a past form to talk about a present situation we would like to be different.
I wish you didn't live so far away.
If only we knew what to do.
He wishes he could afford a holiday.
In the past
We can use wish/if only + a past perfect form to talk about something we would like to change about the past.
They wish they hadn't eaten so much chocolate. They're feeling very sick now.
If only I'd studied harder when I was at school.
Expressing annoyance
We can use wish + would(n't) to show that we are annoyed with what someone or something does or doesn't do. We often feel that they are unlikely or unwilling to change.
I wish you wouldn't borrow my clothes without asking.
I wish it would rain. The garden really needs some water.
She wishes he'd work less. They never spend any time together.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello aymanme2,
Yes, that's correct. Well done! It looks as if you understand this very well.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello MARUFA MARJAN PRITHIE,
Your sentence describes a past situation and you are talking about an something which was not true (you did not meet her). For an unreal past like this you use wish + past perfect. Thus, the correct answer is b - I wish I had met her.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again MARUFA MARJAN PRITHIE,
'I wish I would have...' is not a standard form. As you say, 'I wish I had...' is correct.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello BETSY,
In unreal if-clauses we can use were instead of was. This is true for all subjects and not only the third person. It's only in this construction that we do this.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello soniariverofdez,
We use the past to express hypotehtical or unreal situations. I don't know if you know Spanish or not, but if you do, it's similar in Spanish -- '... que la gente no pusiera ...'
The same is true of expressions with 'if only'.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Farhad,
Yes, this is correct. When 'be' follows the word 'if' or the verb 'wish', it is grammatically correct to say things like 'if I were', 'I wish he were', 'she wishes she were' and 'if it were'. When we use the past simple in this way, we aren't speaking about the past, but rather about a hypothetical situation or hope.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello aymanme2,
'weren't' is the correct answer here -- it expresses an unreal situation. It's 'unreal' because it's not real, that is, sports cars are in fact expensive.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello aymanme2,
Yes, that's correct. Well done! It looks as if you understand this very well.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Heartnette,
No, we would not use 'wouldn't have to' in this context.
The reason is that didn't have to describes a fact which we cannot control. Wouldn't describes a choice here, so it does not go with have to, which describes an obligation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi MarcosPermin,
Wish is a regular verb, so you can simply use the past simple:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello B. Batnayam,
Both sentences describe imaginary situations. Often in English, when we talk about imaginary or counter-factual situations, we move the verb form one step into the past. Thus, to talk about an imaginary present we use wish + past simple. To talk about an imaginary past, we use wish + past perfect.
For example:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello bebers1,
Both 'was' and 'were' (without capital letters) are possible here.
The form 'were' is a subjunctive form which used to be more common in English. Nowadays the present simple if more often used, but the subjunctive is still used with the verb 'be'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Inci Ozturk,
You're right in thinking that 'could' can be used to speak about possibility, but it is also used to speak about ability, and that is the meaning here.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Inci Ozturk,
You can use 'could' after 'if only', e.g. 'If only I could travel! I'd really like to go and visit my family', but I'm not sure if that's what you mean.
Could you give an example? It's difficult to give a general rule without knowing precisely what you mean.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nandintsetseg,
You can read about 'could' on our 'can' and 'could' grammar page. If you have any more specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask us there.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Gayane Dayan,
Yes, you can use either form in that sentence.
Didn't rain expresses a counter-factual idea (it does rain > I wish it didn't/if only it didn't).
Wouldn't rain is an example of anthropomorphism. It implies that the weather has a will of its own and has decided to rain. This is similar to sentences like My computer won't work, where won't means something like refuses to.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Birgit17
You could also say 'If only there were a restaurant open now' -- that is also correct and means the same thing. You can use 'was' or 'were' for all subjects in statements about wishes or imaginary situations (e.g. 'If I were you, I wouldn't do that').
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello khalid Ibrahim
It's sometimes a little tricky to see, but in our exercises, the speaker says something to express their annoyance. Look, for example, at the first three sentences of Task 2:
In 1, since they say 'before they started the project', it's clearly a past time. It's possible the speaker is annoyed, but since they're talking about a past event, 'would ask' is not grammatically correct. The only possibility is 'had asked'.
In 2, there is no expression of annoyance, so 'would travel' doesn't make any sense; 'could travel' is the answer.
In 3, 'I'm always falling over them' expresses annoyance with something that happens repeatedly, therefore 'wouldn't leave' is the correct answer.
I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, we're happy to help, but please tell us which specific question you are confused about and tell us what you think the correct answer is.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Justme,
I'm afraid we don't provide help of this sort. We're a small team here and we try to provide as much help as we can for users with questions about the English language, but we can't help with homework or tests from elsewhere.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi ilnicholas87,
That's a very big topic.
One thing that's important to remember is that time (when an action happens) and tense (forms of the verb) are not the same thing. We can use past tense, for example, to talk about the present or even the future.
It's also important to remember that time is not the only important element of a verb's meaning. Aspect, which deals with things like whether an action is permanent or temporary, finished or unfinished, repeated or singular and so on, is also very important.
The grammar pages on LearnEnglish have a section on verbs. You can find it here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/verbs
On the right you'll see links to different aspects of the verb system. The pages on talking about the past, present and future would be a good place to start, I think.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team