Wish & If Only
Level B2 · Conditionals
wish and if only express regret or a desire for something to be different from how it actually is — about now, about the past, or about someone else's ongoing behaviour. if only is just a more emphatic version of wish, usually standing on its own rather than starting a new sentence around it.
The tense after wish/if only shifts back one step from the reality, just like in a conditional:
- wish/if only + past simple for a present regret — something is different from how you'd like it right now: I wish I had more time (I don't have more time); If only I lived closer to work.
- wish/if only + past perfect for a past regret — something happened differently from how you'd have liked: I wish I hadn't said that (I did say it); If only I had studied harder (I didn't).
- After wish, was often becomes were in a more formal/traditional style: I wish I were taller (I wish I was is common in everyday speech, but were is considered more correct).
A different pattern covers annoyance and stand-alone use:
- wish + would + base verb expresses annoyance at someone else's ongoing behaviour, or a wish for change: I wish you would stop interrupting me; I wish it would stop raining.
- wish + would is never used for your own situation or state: I wish I would be taller is wrong — for yourself, use the past simple/past perfect pattern instead: I wish I were taller.
- if only can stand alone as a short exclamation, with no following clause: If only! (meaning 'I really wish that were true').
The most common mistake is using the present simple after wish/if only instead of backshifting: I wish I have more time is wrong — it needs the past simple: I wish I had more time. A second frequent error: using wish + would for your own state instead of someone else's behaviour: I wish I would be rich is wrong — it should be I wish I were rich.
Look for wish or if only followed by the past simple (present regret), the past perfect (past regret), or would + base verb (annoyance about someone else) — all signalling that reality doesn't match what the speaker wants.