Users' questions

What is the structure of wish?

What is the structure of wish?

When we use wish followed by a verb in the to-infinitive form, wish means the same as want, but it is more formal. When we use an object after wish, we must also use a verb in the to-infinitive form. Alternatively, we can say want or (more politely) would like: We wish to have a table near the window, please.

What tense do we use with wish?

English speakers use “wish” to show that they want a situation to be different. The verb after “wish” is one tense back, so that if you are wishing for a different present situation, the tense that follows “wish” is past simple or past continuous.

How do you use a second conditional wish?

When we make a wish or a regret about a present situation, we use a second conditional structure: I wish I was thinner. or I wish I were thinner. As with the second conditional, though we are talking about a future wish, we use the past simple.

When to use conditional with wish and if only?

We use them when we would like things to be different: With present conditionals, to show our wishes that may occur in the future. — ” If only she had listened to me, she wouldn’t have done that mistake.” = We show regret about a past action. — “If only he were more polite! = We express a wish about a present situation.

When to use ” wish ” and ” if only ” clauses?

Conditional clauses We can use “wish” and “if only” to describe an imagined or impossible condition in the past or present followed by a main clause that describes the imagined result. Second conditional structure (link to worksheet) for impossible desires in the present: “If only I didn’t have a headache, I would/could go to the party tonight.”

When do you use wish in the past?

Wishes about the past. We can use ‘wish’ with the past perfect to talk about regrets from the past. These are things that have already happened but we wish they’d happened in a different way. This use of ‘wish’ is very similar to the third conditional .

When to use conditionals in the present or future?

Real Conditionals in the Present or Future A conditional sentence expresses the idea that the action in the main clause (the result clause) can only happen when a certain condition (the clause that begins withif) is fulfilled. The ifclause states the condition, and the main clause states the result.