wish / if only

Advanced · Conditionals

"Wish" lets you talk about things you want to be different — your regrets and desires. The tricky part is that after "wish", the verb goes one step back in time: to talk about NOW, you use a PAST tense.

"I wish I had more time" (I don't have enough time now). "If only" works the same way but is more emotional and dramatic.

How to build it

wish + past simple → regret about now wish + past perfect → regret about the past wish + would → wanting a change / complaint

Rules & examples

  1. wish + past simple = a regret about the present.

    The situation now is not what you want. Use "were" for all subjects.

    • I wish I had more time.
    • I wish I were taller.
  2. wish + past perfect = a regret about the past.

    You are sorry about something that already happened.

    • I wish I had studied harder.
    • She wishes she had not said that.
  3. wish + would = a desire for change or a complaint about a habit.

    Often used about other people's annoying behaviour.

    • I wish you would stop shouting.
    • I wish it would stop raining.
  4. "If only" is a stronger, more emotional version of "wish".

    Same grammar, more feeling.

    • If only I had listened!
    • If only I were rich.

Tips to remember

  • Verb goes back one step: present regret → past tense; past regret → past perfect.
  • You cannot "wish + would" about yourself for a habit — use it about others or about situations.

Common mistakes

  • ✗ I wish I have more money. → ✓ I wish I had more money. — After "wish" (about the present), use the past simple.