I wish …/ if only ---WHISHES AND REGRETS.

To talk about regrets in PRESENT, we use the following structure.

I WISH + PAST SIMPLE
 I wish I had more time to do exercise.
 I wish I were with you celebrating your birthday.
 I wish I spoke French to work in Canada.
 I wish I was/were watching a movie right now.
 I wish I was more consistent with my morning routine.
 I wish I were a pastry chef to make lots of cakes
 I wish she were my girlfriend.
 I wish I were in another country as an exchanging student.
 I wish I made another meal with too much flavor.

If you want to regret about something you did / didn’t do in the past, we
use:
I WISH + PAST PERFECT
 I wish I had studied English before
 I wish I hadn’t gotten married so young.
 I wish I had saved up when I was working.
 I wish you hadn’t lost the money.
 I wish I had learnt to draw
 I wish I had taken the bus earlier.
 I wish I hadn't drunk too much last night
If you want to talk about wishes/regret in the future… we use …
I WISH SUBJECT + WOULD (when we talk about someone/something
different)
I WISH I COULD ….
 I wish Real Madrid would win the Champions League this season
 I wish Robert would pass the exam next week.
 I wish I could buy a car next month.
 I wish I could go on holiday with my whole family.
 I wish I could go to the beach on vacation
 I wish I could buy a new pair of sport tennis.
 I wish I could graduate from my university.
 I wish I could travel more

We can also use SHOULD HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE to talk about

regrets.
 I should’ve studied a bit more.
 I should’ve followed the instructions
 You should’ve told the truth.
 You shouldn’t have done/said that.
 We should have watched/seen/visited that museum.
 We shouldn’t’ve spent so much money in a party.
 I shouldn’t’ve deleted the info from my laptop.
