Wish & if only

1. Meaning

We use sentences starting with ‘wish’ or ‘if only’ if we want to express a wish. ‘If only’ is not so common and more emphatic than ‘wish’.

We can wish something about:

• the present: I wish you were here. (but you are here now)
• the future: I wish he would help me with my project tomorrow.
• the past: I wish I had travelled the world when I was younger

2. Wishes about the present

We use wish + past simple or wish + past continuous to talk about a wish in the present.

I wish I had a small dog. (but I don’t have a dog)

I wish I were/was taller. (but I am short)

I wish you were here. (but you are not here)

We can use were instead of was:

I wish I were younger.

We can also use could:

I wish I could drive a car.

3. Wishes about the future

We use wish + would to express the following:

a) to talk about a future wish, for something to happen:

I wish he would arrive sooner.

I wish they would increase the speed limit.

b) to complain about a bad habit:

I wish you wouldn’t smoke so much.

I wish you would stop lying.

4. Wishes about the past

We use wish + past perfect to express a regret about the past. It refers to something that we cannot change.

I wish I had studied more. (but I didn’t)

I wish you had arrived on time. (but you didn’t)

Peter wishes he had written down the girl’s number.