Look at these examples to see how wish and if only are used.
That guy is so annoying! I wish he'd stop talking.
I wish I lived closer to my family.
If only I hadn't lost her phone number. She must think I'm so rude for not calling her.
I wish they wouldn't park their car in front of my house.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use wish and if only to talk about things that we would like to be different in either the present or the past. If only is usually a bit stronger than wish.
In the present
We can use wish/if only + a past form to talk about a present situation we would like to be different.
I wish you didn't live so far away.
If only we knew what to do.
He wishes he could afford a holiday.
In the past
We can use wish/if only + a past perfect form to talk about something we would like to change about the past.
They wish they hadn't eaten so much chocolate. They're feeling very sick now.
If only I'd studied harder when I was at school.
Expressing annoyance
We can use wish + would(n't) to show that we are annoyed with what someone or something does or doesn't do. We often feel that they are unlikely or unwilling to change.
I wish you wouldn't borrow my clothes without asking.
I wish it would rain. The garden really needs some water.
She wishes he'd work less. They never spend any time together.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello!
Could you please help me to clarify these rules.
I checked several grammar books and there were different explanations, so I got confused.
For example, which one is correct or both varinats are possible?
I wish I divorced him now or I wish i could divorce him now.
Both sentences are about the wiligness to change the present situation, but probabaly are not possible now.
Also I have a question regarding the wish/if only + would (not) +V1 construction. It is usually used when we are dissatisfied with sm`s behavior or actions and want them to change it, right? So it is about possible changes?
I also saw in a grammar book, that we can use it if we want sth to happen now or soon.
For example, I wish our bus would come. I`m cold!
or when we talk about the weather --- I wish it would stop raining!
Hi AlexKat_,
For your first question, I wish I could divorce him now is the right option. The intended meaning seems to be about having the ability or possibility to do so, so could is needed in the sentence.
Yes, that's right about the use of wish (somebody) would + verb. But this meaning can be extended to non-human things that we want to change, especially something that displays some kind of "behaviour" (e.g. the bus coming, or the rain stopping).
I hope that helps!
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello
can I use both when I talk about past and What is the difference ?
I hoped she passed the exam
I wish she had passed the exam
Hello HLH,
Both sentences are possible.
In the first sentence (with 'hope') she has taken the exam but you don't know the result yet and are waiting to find out.
In the second sentence (with 'wish') she has also already taken the exam and you know that she did not pass, You are feeling regret or sadness about this fact.
The second sentence is about a known past; the first is about an as-yet unknown result which you will presumably find out in the future.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Peter
I hope she passed the exam
I hoped she passed the exam
1-Both sentences I do not know the result ?
2- if I do not know the result I will use
I hope she passed the exam
I hoped she passed the exam
if I know the result I will use
I wish she had passed the exam
or
I wished she had passed the exam?
3- What's the difference between them
I hope she passed the exam
I hoped she passed the exam?
Hello again HLH,
It's a little hard to comment without some context for these sentences but I'll try.
The only change in these sentences is in when you felt the hope. In the first sentence you still hope now and therefore do not know the result. In the second we only know that you hoped in the past. We don't know if you later learned the result or not. You could say, for example, 'I hoped she passed the exam, but I never heard from her again so I never found out', but you could also say 'I hoped she passed the exam and I was pleased to find out later that she had!'.
If you did find out the result and she did not pass then the past perfect would be used as a way to show that the hope ended: 'I had hoped she passed the exam but unfortunately she didn't'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. Can you help me, please ?
Can i say: '' she wishes you felt better'' or '' she wishes you would feel better''. And why?
Hello thebaongoc,
The correct form is ''''you felt...'
After 'wish' we have several choices.
We can use a past form to talk about the present we would like. For example:
He wishes he had a big house >>> He doesn't have a big house and he is imagining an alternative present.
We can also use a past perfect after 'wish' to talk about a past we are imagining. For example:
She wishes she had studied maths instead of biology >>> She didn't study maths and she is imagining an alternative past.
We can also use 'would' after 'wish'. However, this only describes choices. For example:
I wish you would stop talking >>> this is fine (if a little rude) as talking or not talking is a choice.
I wish you would feel better >>> this is not correct as how we feel is not a choice we have. We can't choose to feel better or worse; we just experience it.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
In this sentence "I wish tomorrow...Sunday" , l should use "were" or "would be".
Hello thebaongoc,
The correct form is 'I wish tomorrow were Sunday'. We only use 'would' when we are describing something a person could choose to do or not do. What day it is is a fact about the world, not a choice.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team