Wish and If Only

• CEFR B2
• Grammar
• Printable
• Answer key

Wish and If Only is a printable grammar worksheet for English language learners at CEFR level B2. It covers regrets and unreal situations, with 5 exercises and an answer key.

We use WISH and IF ONLY to express regrets or desires about situations that are not real. Both have the same meaning; 'if only' is more emphatic and emotional.

For present/future wishes (something is not true now): wish/if only + past simple. "I wish I had more time." For past regrets (something was not true in the past): wish/if only + past perfect. "I wish I had studied harder." For wishes about annoying habits (wanting something to change): wish + would + base verb. "I wish you would listen to me."

Compare with second conditional (if I had... I would...) and third conditional (if I had had... I would have...): the wish/if only structures express the same ideas but from a first-person emotional perspective.

Examples

• I wish I lived closer to the city centre.
• If only I had taken that job — I'd be earning much more now.
• She wishes she could speak French fluently.
• I wish you would turn that music down — I'm trying to work.
• If only we had booked earlier, the tickets would have been cheaper.
• He wishes he had chosen a different career.
• I wish it were summer already. I'm tired of this cold weather.
• If only I had listened to her advice — she was right all along.

What's in this worksheet

1. Choose the correct form
2. Correct the mistake
3. Write wish sentences
4. Rewrite using wish / if only
5. Mixed gap fill

Common mistakes

• I wish I would have a bigger flat.  →  I wish I had a bigger flat. For present wishes, use wish + past simple. Don't use 'would have' here.
• If only I studied harder last year.  →  If only I had studied harder last year. For past regrets, use wish/if only + past perfect ('had studied'), not past simple.
• I wish I would pass the exam.  →  I wish I could pass the exam. / I hope I pass the exam. Don't use 'wish + would' about yourself. Use 'wish + could' for ability or 'hope' for future.
• She wishes she will get the promotion.  →  She wishes she would get / could get the promotion. After 'wish', use past or conditional forms — never 'will'.

Speaking prompts

• Is there a subject you wish you had studied at school or university? What would be different now?
• Think of one decision in your life that you wish you had made differently. What happened?
• Is there something about your city, country, or the world that you wish were different?
• Think of someone whose behaviour you wish would change. What do you wish they would do differently?