Wish and If Only: Present and Past Wishes with Examples

When you want a present situation to be different, use wish + past simple. The past form does not mean past time here; it means unreal. I wish I had a car means I don't have a car, and I would like one.

The pattern is the same as in the second conditional: If I had a car, I would drive to work. Both use the past simple to talk about something imaginary in the present.

With the verb be, use were for all subjects in careful English: I wish I were taller, I wish it were summer. In everyday speech, many people say was with I, he, she and it: I wish it was summer. Both are heard, but were is safer in exams and formal writing.

Use wish + could when you want to be able to do something that you can't do now. I wish I could swim means I can't swim, and I would like to.

For the past, use wish + could have + past participle: I wish I could have come to your party means I wasn't able to come. This is very useful for polite apologies.

Notice that we don't say I wish I would. When the subject is the same person as the one wishing, use could or the past simple instead: I wish I could stop eating chocolate, or I wish I didn't eat so much chocolate.

To talk about past regrets, use wish + past perfect (had + past participle). I wish I had studied harder means I didn't study hard, and now I feel sorry about it.

This pattern matches the third conditional: If I had studied harder, I would have passed. Both talk about a past that cannot be changed. If you need to review the form, see the past perfect.

For negative regrets, use hadn't: I wish I hadn't said that. In speech, I had and I hadn't are usually contracted: I wish I'd known.

Use wish + would when you want another person, or a situation, to change, usually because it annoys you. I wish you would stop interrupting me is a complaint, and it sounds quite strong.

We often use it with actions or habits we can't control: I wish it would stop raining. I wish the bus would come. We don't normally use wish + would about ourselves (I wish I would) or about states like be and have: say I wish he were here, not I wish he would be here, unless you mean he refuses to be here.

Wish + wouldn't is a way to complain about a repeated habit: I wish you wouldn't leave your shoes in the hall.

If only uses exactly the same patterns as wish, but it is more emotional. It is often said as an exclamation, and we stress only.

Use if only + past simple for now (If only I had more time!), if only + past perfect for the past (If only I hadn't missed the train!) and if only + would for things you want to change (If only he would listen!).

If only can also start a longer sentence: If only we had left earlier, we would have caught the plane. Here it works like a stronger If in a conditional sentence.

Learners often use wish when they mean hope. Use hope for things that are possible and might really happen, and use wish for things that are unreal or impossible. Compare I hope you get the job (it's possible) with I wish I had a better job (but I don't).

After hope, use normal tenses: I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed the film. After wish, move the verb back in time as shown above.

There are also some fixed uses of wish with a noun, for good wishes: I wish you luck. We wish you a merry Christmas. Best wishes. In formal English, wish + to + verb means want: I wish to make a complaint. This is very formal and mostly used in official situations.

People use wish and if only all the time to share feelings, especially regret and frustration. A friend might say I wish I hadn't eaten so much after a big dinner, or I wish it were the weekend on a long Monday.

Replies are often short. If someone says I wish I could come, you can answer I wish you could too! If someone says I wish I had more time, a natural reply is Me too, or Don't we all?

In speech, contractions are normal: I wish I'd known, I wish you'd told me, I wish he'd stop. Here 'd can be had or would, and the next verb tells you which: had is followed by a past participle (known, told), and would by the base form (stop).