Wishes and Regrets: *I Wish, If Only*
I wish and If only are how English expresses hypothetical desire and regret — and both run on the same backshift logic as the conditional family. Present wishes use the past simple (I wish I spoke better French, If only we had more time); past regrets use the past perfect (I wish I had taken that opportunity, If only they hadn’t made that decision); future change wishes (about someone else’s behaviour) use would + base form (I wish he would listen more carefully). If only is stronger and more emphatic than I wish, but both follow the same patterns. The recurring trap: I wish I would doesn’t exist — English forces I wish I could for own-ability.
This worksheet drills B2 use of I wish / If only across all three time references, with focus on the would / could distinction.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- Grammar Box with all three patterns (present past simple, past past perfect, future change would) and the if only vs I wish register difference
- Gap-fill across the three patterns: complete each I wish sentence with the correct verb form
- Rewriting: turn statements of regret into I wish / If only sentences
- Personalised reflection: write three sentences about something you wish were different now, something you wish had happened differently, and something you wish someone else would change
- Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes on the I wish I could / I wish someone else would split
Common mistakes addressed: I wish I would (I wish I would speak French) instead of I wish I could, missing past perfect for past regret (I wish I knew this earlier when had known is meant), and was instead of were (I wish I was taller).
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B2, in upper-intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. I wish transformations are a recurring task in Cambridge B2 First (FCE) and C1 Advanced (CAE) key-word transformations. Part of the Conditionals & Wishes collection — the natural sibling is Third Conditional: Past Regrets, which shares the past-perfect logic for past regret.
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