Wish & If Only
Learn how “wish” and “if only” express a wish or regret about something that is not true, using patterns closely related to the second and third conditionals.
Wanting something different
Wish and if only describe a gap between reality and what is wanted.
Wish and if only express a wish about a situation that is not true, whether in the present, the past or as a complaint about the future. Both are followed by a clause, and the verb form in that clause depends on which time period the wish is about.
In the sentence I wish I had more time this week., the speaker does not currently have more time. The wish describes the opposite of the present reality.
Because these patterns share their verb forms with the second and third conditionals, they are easiest to learn once those two patterns are already familiar.
Before you begin
Wish and if only build on the second and third conditionals.
This lesson assumes familiarity with the verb patterns used in the second and third conditionals. If either pattern needs review, begin there before working through the wishes below.
Wishes about the present
Wish plus the past simple describes a present situation that is not true.
01
Wish
I wish + past simple.
I wish I had more time.
02
Reality
What is actually true right now.
I don’t have more time.
This matches the verb form used in the second conditional.
The past simple after wish does not refer to the past. As in the second conditional, it signals distance from present reality, not distance in time.
Wishes about the past
Wish plus the past perfect describes regret about the past.
01
Wish
I wish + past perfect.
I wish I had studied harder.
02
Reality
What actually happened in the past.
I did not study hard enough.
This matches the verb form used in the third conditional.
Just as in the third conditional, the past perfect after wish describes an event that did not happen, and often expresses regret about it.
Wishes about someone else’s behaviour
Wish plus “would” often expresses a complaint or a desired change.
A frustration with someone else’s actions
I wish you would stop interrupting me.
Wish plus would is generally used for another person’s behaviour, or a situation that keeps happening, rather than for the speaker’s own actions.
A wish about a recurring situation
I wish it would stop raining.
This pattern can also apply to a situation or event, expressing impatience for something to change.
Not used for the speaker’s own actions
Not: I wish I would have more time.
Correct: I wish I had more time.
When the wish is about the speaker’s own present situation, the past simple is used instead of would.
If only
If only follows the same patterns as wish, with added emphasis.
If only about the present
If only I had more time.
If only about the past
If only I had known earlier.
A stronger tone
If only follows the same verb patterns as wish, using the past simple, past perfect or would in the same situations. The difference is tone: if only generally sounds more emphatic, often expressing stronger regret or urgency.
A useful decision guide
Ask which time period, or whose behaviour, the wish is about.
01
Is the wish about a present situation?
Use wish or if only plus the past simple.
02
Is the wish about something in the past?
Use wish or if only plus the past perfect.
03
Is the wish a complaint about someone else’s behaviour?
Use wish plus would, not the past simple.
04
Does the wish need a more emphatic tone?
If only generally sounds stronger than wish, in the same pattern.
Common mistakes
Do not use “would” for a wish about your own present situation.
Using would for the speaker’s own present situation.
Not: I wish I would have more time.
Correct: I wish I had more time.
The past simple is used here, not would, matching the second conditional pattern.
Using the past simple instead of the past perfect for a past regret.
Not: I wish I studied harder.
Correct: I wish I had studied harder.
A wish about the past needs the past perfect, matching the third conditional pattern.
Adding “for” or a full clause after “if only.”
Not: If only for I had known earlier.
Correct: If only I had known earlier.
“If only” is followed directly by the clause, without an extra connecting word.
Check your understanding
Are wish and if only used correctly?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
Which sentence correctly expresses a wish about the present?
✅ Exactly! A present wish about oneself uses the past simple, not “would.”
❎ Not quite. Check whether “would” belongs in a wish about your own present situation.
Compare with the second conditional pattern.
Which sentence correctly expresses regret about the past?
✅ Exactly! A wish about the past needs the past perfect.
❎ Not quite. Check the verb form needed for a wish about the past.
“I wish you would stop interrupting me.” Who is this wish about?
✅ Exactly! “Wish…would” is typically used for another person’s behaviour or an ongoing situation.
❎ Not quite. Look at who is doing the interrupting.
Which sentence follows the correct pattern for “if only”?
✅ Exactly! “If only” is followed directly by the clause.
❎ Not quite. Check whether an extra word is needed after “if only.”
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains wish and if only correctly.
Why does “I wish I had more time” use the past simple, even though it is about the present?
✅ Exactly! Wish borrows the same distance-marking pattern used in the second conditional.
❎ Not quite. Compare this with how the past simple works in “If I won the lottery.”
Why is “I wish I would have more time” incorrect?
✅ Exactly! “Would” is reserved for someone else’s behaviour or a recurring situation, not the speaker’s own present state.
❎ Not quite. Compare this with “I wish you would stop interrupting me.”
Why does “if only” often sound stronger than “wish”?
✅ Exactly! The grammar stays the same; the tone is what shifts.
❎ Not quite. Compare “I wish I had known” with “If only I had known.”
Try it another way
Complete each wish or “if only” sentence.
Type the correct form of the verb shown in brackets.
✅ Exactly! The past simple form of “have” is used for a present wish.
❎ Not quite. Use the past simple form of “have.”
✅ Exactly! The past perfect form of “know” is used for a past regret.
❎ Not quite. Use the past perfect form of “know.”
✅ Exactly! “Would stop” expresses impatience for a recurring situation to change.
❎ Not quite. Use “would” plus the base form of “stop.”
Edit the sentence
Rewrite each sentence with the correct wish or “if only” form.
Use the note in brackets to decide what needs to change.
I wish I would have more time. (correct the present wish)
✅ Exactly! The past simple replaces “would have” for a present wish about oneself.
❎ Not quite. Replace “would have” with the past simple “had.”
I wish I studied harder. (correct the past regret)
✅ Exactly! The past perfect “had studied” is needed for a wish about the past.
❎ Not quite. Change “studied” to the past perfect “had studied.”
If only for I had known earlier. (remove the unnecessary word)
✅ Exactly! “If only” is followed directly by the clause, without “for.”
❎ Not quite. Remove “for” after “if only.”
Quick review
Wish and if only borrow their verb patterns from the second and third conditionals.
Wish and if only express a wish about something that is not true.
A wish about the present uses the past simple: I wish I had more time.
A wish about the past uses the past perfect: I wish I had studied harder.
A wish about someone else’s behaviour, or a recurring situation, uses “wish” plus “would”: I wish you would stop interrupting me.
If only follows the same patterns as wish, generally with a more emphatic tone.
Remember
Ask which time period the wish belongs to, and whose behaviour it concerns.
Once that’s clear, the verb form follows the same logic as the second and third conditionals: the past simple for the present, the past perfect for the past, and “would” for someone else’s actions or a situation the speaker wants to change.