wish / if only
Build your vocabulary with practical examples
Level B2
Wishes about the Present (wish + past)
wish I had
/wɪʃ aɪ hæd/
I wish I had more time.
wish I knew
/wɪʃ aɪ njuː/
I wish I knew the answer.
wish she were
/wɪʃ ʃiː wɜːr/
I wish she were here right now.
wish I could
/wɪʃ aɪ kʊd/
I wish I could speak French.
Regrets about the Past (wish + past perfect)
wish I had studied
/wɪʃ aɪ hæd ˈstʌdid/
I wish I had studied harder at school.
wish I hadn't said
/wɪʃ aɪ ˈhædənt sed/
I wish I hadn't said that to her.
wish you had told
/wɪʃ juː hæd toʊld/
I wish you had told me sooner.
Annoyance / Future (wish + would)
wish you would
/wɪʃ juː wʊd/
I wish you would stop interrupting me.
wish it would rain
/wɪʃ ɪt wʊd reɪn/
I wish it would rain — the garden is so dry.
wish he wouldn't
/wɪʃ hiː ˈwʊdənt/
I wish he wouldn't talk so loudly.
if only (stronger version of wish)
If only I knew
/ɪf ˈoʊnli aɪ njuː/
If only I knew what to do!
If only I had
/ɪf ˈoʊnli aɪ hæd/
If only I had listened to my parents.
If only she would
/ɪf ˈoʊnli ʃiː wʊd/
If only she would call me back.