By: Miss Nicole

Expressing
wishes
1. wish + past simple
It is used when the speaker wants
reality to be different.

I wish I lived here .

I wish I went to London next summer.

2.wish + past perfect

It is used to express regret about past
actions.

I wish I had studied harder to pass the exam.

He wishes he had learnt French to go to
France.
wish + would
1 It is used to refer to general wishes for the
future about others.

I wish the weather would change.

I wish my brother would come.

wish + could
1 present wishes

He wishes he could afford a holiday.

have + past participle

regret ‘I wish i could have attended to your last birthday party’

If only
It is used with the same verbs as wish but we express
stronger feelings.

If only I could visit my mother.

If only I had never left my house! If only he would call!

It’s time + s.p

It is used to talk about present/past but to express
that the action should have been done before.

It´s time you went to bed, you have an exam

tomorrow.
It´s time we went to the train station, it´s very late!
 would rather
1 Simple Past
It´s used to express preferences for the pres/future.

I´d rather you didn´t leave London.

I´d rather she didn´t drive tonight.

2 Past Perfect
It is used to say what we wanted to happen in the past.

I´d rather you hadn´t left home, I miss you.

They´d rather you had studied.

3 verb
It is used to express our own preferences about ourselves.

I´d rather go to the cinema.

She´d rather eat a burger.
Jake and Martin share a room at college. Read what they say about each other.
Then write sentences beginning I wish he would / wouldn’t.

MARTIN
It’s dreadful having to share a room with Jake. He borrows my phone without
asking. He never washes his coffee mug and he’s so untidy! He leaves his shoes
lying around the room and drops his clothes on my chair – the room’s such a
mess I can’t work. And he comes in late in the evening and doesn’t remember I
go to sleep early. Then he lies in bed playing computer games. I can’t stand it!
I’m going to look for a room on my own.

JAKE
The trouble with Martin is that he never relaxes. He works so hard. He gets angry
when I just make a phone call. And he interferes with my possessions. He moves
my shoes and clothes around so I can’t find them. He throws my shoes on my
bed. He never plays computer games with me. He wakes me up when he goes out
for a run early in the morning. He’s no fun to share a room with.
 What do you say in these situations?

It’s raining. You want to go out, but not in

the rain.
You say: I wish …………………….
You’re waiting for Jane. She’s late and
you’re getting impatient.
You say to yourself: I wish ……………………
You’re looking for a job- so far without
success. Nobody will give you a job.
You say: I wish somebody ………….
You can hear a baby crying. It’s been
crying for a long time and you’re
trying to study.
You say: …………………….
Brian has been wearing the same
clothes for years. You think he needs
some new clothes.
You say to Brian: ……………………
Answer the questions
Have you ever done anything in the past that you
wish you hadn't?
Do you wish you were richer/thinner/more fluent
in English?
Do you ever find yourself wishing for things that
are unlikely or impossible?
Is there something in the present that bothers or
disturbs you and you would like to change?
 wish + wouldn’t
Your friend drives very fast. You
don’t like this. A lot of people drop litter in
You say to your friend: the street. You don’t like this.

Joe leaves the door open all Write two situations that
the time. This annoys you. also annoy you
Put the verb into the correct form.
1 I didn’t see you when you passed me in the street. If …………. (I / see) ………. (I / say) hello.
2 Sam got to the station just in time to catch the train to the airport. If ……………. (he / miss)
the train, ………………. (he / miss) his flight too.
3 I’m glad that you reminded me about Rachel’s birthday. …………. (I / forget) if ………….
(you / not / remind) me.
4 I wanted to send you an email, but I didn’t have your email address. If……………. (I /
have) your address, ……………………. (I / send) you an email.
5 A: How was your trip? Was it good?
B: It was OK, but ………………. (we / enjoy) it more if the weather…………. (be) better.
6 I took a taxi to the hotel, but the traffic was bad. ………. (it / be) quicker if……. (I / walk).
7 I’m not tired. If ……………………. (I / be) tired, I’d go home now.
8 I wasn’t tired last night. If ……………………. (I / be) tired, I would have gone home earlier.
 Imagine that you are in these situations
(answer with ‘i wish’)

You’ve eaten too much and now you feel sick.

There was a job advertised in the paper. You decided not to

apply for it. Now you think that your decision was wrong.

When you were younger, you never learned to play a musical

instrument. Now you regret this.

You are walking in the country. You’d like to take some pictures,
but you didn’t bring your camera.
Decide if this statements are present or past.
 Choose a topic and talk:

A famous singer you wish you had seen in concert.

A foreign language you would like to be able to speak apart from English.
Something you would rather a member of your family didn't do.
A very expensive possession you would love to have.
A quality you would rather have.
A famous person you wish you could meet.
A sport you would like to be very good at.
An aspect of your personality you'd sooner change.
Something you regret having bought.
The number of brothers or sisters you'd sooner have had.
When you would have liked to have been born