Wish/if only - Grammar - BusinessEnglish.com (2024)

Introduction

"wish"

We can use "wish":

• to express a desire for something in the future in a formal or polite tone:
  "I wish to attend the meeting."
• to express a desire for something in the future for someone else, usually using fixed expressions:
  "I wish him the best of luck."

"wish" / "if only"

We can use "wish" and "if only" to express an unlikely or impossible desire or a regret:

• with the past simple to express an impossible desire in the present:
  • "I wish I lived in the countryside."
  • "If only I lived in the countryside."
    I don’t live in the countryside in the present so this desire is impossible.
  
  
• with the past perfect to express a regret about the past:
  • "I wish I hadn't eaten the prawns."
  • "If only I hadn't eaten the prawns."
    I regret that I ate the prawns in the past.
  
  
• with would/could to express a desire that we believe is unlikely or impossible in the present:
  • "I wish he would save money."
  • "I wish he could save money."
  • "If only he would save money."
  • "If only he could save money."
    not "I wish he will/can save money."
    I do not believe that he can/will save money, so this is an impossible desire about his ability in the present to save money.

The subjunctive mood

Expressions using "wish" and "if only" are examples of the subjunctive mood, which is used to express unlikely or impossible desires (or recommendations, without "wish" / "if only"). In the subjunctive mood, we only use "were" (not "

"):

• with past simple of "be":
  • "I wish he were on holiday."
  • "If only he were on holiday."
  • (not "was here")
    He is not on holiday so this is an impossible desire in the present.
  
  
• with past continuous:
  • "I wish I were going on holiday."
  • "If only I were going on holiday."
  • (not "was going")
    I am not going on holiday so this desire is impossible in the present or future.

Conditional clauses

We can use "wish" and "if only" to describe an imagined or impossible condition in the past or present followed by a main clause that describes the imagined result.

Second conditional structure (link to worksheet) for impossible desires in the present:

• "If only I didn't have a headache, I would/could go to the party tonight."
• "I wish I didn't have a headache, then I would/could go to the party tonight."
  The real situation and result: I do have a headache so the desired intention/ability in the present to go to the party is an imagined result.

Third conditional structure (link to worksheet):

• "If only I'd taken the train, I would have arrived at the destination by now."
• "I wish I'd taken the train; I would have arrived at the destination by now."
  The real situation and result: I did not take the train and I have not arrived at the destination so this is an imagined result in the past.

Form - "wish"

We use the present simple of "wish" to express a present desire for something in the future.

• To express a desire in a formal or polite tone:
  subject + "wish" + "to" + infinitive

  Positive	I You We They	wish	to attend	the meeting.
  	He / She / It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish
  	He / She / It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question	Do	I you we they	wish	to attend	the meeting?
  	Does	he / she / it

  
  
• To express a desire:
  subject + "wish" + object pronoun

  Positive	I You We They	wish	me you us them him / her / it	the best of luck.
  	He / She / It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish
  	He / She / It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question	Do	I you we they	wish	me you us them him / her / it	the best of luck?
  	Does	he / she / it

  
  
• We use the past simple of "wish" to describe a desire that was expressed in the past:
  • "She wished him the best of luck."

Practice

Complete the sentences using "wish" and the verb in brackets (where applicable):
.

Form - "wish" / "if only"

We do not use "if only" in question form.

Form:

• with past simple and subject pronoun to express an impossible desire in the present:

  "wish"

  See Also

  Unblur & Sharpen Image Online Free to Use| PicWish

  Positive	I You We They	wish	I you we they he / she / it	lived	in the countryside.
  	He / She / It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish
  	He / She / It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question	Do	I you we they	wish	I you we they he / she / it	lived	in the countryside?
  	Does	he / she / it

  
  "if only"

  Positive	If only	I you we they he / she / it	lived	in the countryside.
  Negative			didn't live

  
  
• with past perfect and subject pronoun to express a regret about the past:

  "wish"

  Positive	I You We They	wish	I you we they he / she it	had eaten	the prawns.
  	He / She / It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish		hadn't eaten
  	He She It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question	Do	I you we they	wish	I you we they he / she / it	had eaten	the prawns?
  	Does	he / she / it			hadn't eaten	the prawns?

  
  "if only"

  Positive	If only	I you we they he / she / it	had eaten	the prawns.
  Negative			hadn't eaten

  
  
• with would / could and subject pronoun to express a strong desire that we believe is unlikely or impossible:

  "wish"

  Positive	I You We They	wish	I you we they he / she / it	would save money. could speak Spanish.
  	He / She / It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish
  	He / She / It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question

  Do

  I you we they

  wish

  I you we they he / she / it

  would save money? could speak Spanish?

  
  "if only"

  Positive	If only	I you we they he / she / it	would could	save money. speak Spanish.
  Negative			wouldn't couldn't

The subjunctive mood

Form:

• with past simple of "be" and subject pronoun:

  "wish"

  Positive	I You We They	wish	I you we they he / she it	were weren't	here.
  	He She It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish
  	He She It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question (positive and negative)	Do	I you we they	wish	I you we they he / she / it	were weren't	here?
  	Does	he / she / it

  
  "if only"

  Positive	If only	I you we they he / she / it	were	here.
  Negative			weren't

  
  
• with past continuous and subject pronoun:

  "wish"

  Positive	I You We They	wish	I you we they he / she / it	were going weren't going	on holiday.
  	He / She / It	wishes
  Negative	I You We They	don't wish
  	He / She / It	doesn't wish

  
  

  question	Do	I you we they	wish	I you we they he / she / it	were going weren't going	on holiday?
  	Does	he / she / it

  
  "if only"

  Positive	If only	I you we they he / she / it	were going	on holiday.
  Negative			weren't going

Conditional clauses

• Second conditional structure (worksheet link):

  "if only"

  We can change the order of the conditional clause with no difference in meaning, for example:

  Conditional clause	Main clause
  "If only" + subject + past simple + comma	Subject + "would" / "could"
  If only I didn't have a headache,	I would / could go to the party tonight.

  
  

  Main clause	Conditional clause
  Subject + "would" / "could"	"if only" + subject + past simple
  I would / could go to the party tonight	if only I didn't have a headache.

  "wish"

  We use "then" to show that the main clause is a direct result of the conditional clause. We can't reverse the order of the clauses as we can with "if only":

  Conditional clause with "wish"	Main clause
  Subject + "wish" + subject + past simple + comma	"then" + subject + "would" / "could"
  I wish I didn't have a headache	then I would/could go to the party tonight.

  
  
• Third conditional structure (worksheet link):

  "if only"

  We can change the order of the conditional clause with no difference in meaning, for example:

  Conditional clause	Main clause
  "If only" + subject + past perfect + comma	subject + "would have" / "could have"
  If only I had taken the train,	I would have / could have arrived by now.

  
  

  Main clause	Conditional clause
  Subject + "would" / "could"	"if only" + subject + past simple
  I would have / could have arrived by now	if only I had taken the train.

  "wish"

  We use a semicolon (;) to join the clauses in a single sentence. In this case we do not use "then" because the expectation/possibility about the time of arrival happens at the same time as taking the train. We can’t reverse the order of the clauses as we can with "if only":

  Conditional clause with "wish"	Main clause
  Subject + "wish" + subject + past perfect + semicolon	subject + "would have" / "could have"
  I wish I had taken the train;	I would have / could have arrived by now.

Further practice

Complete the sentences with the correct answer from a, b, c or d:
.