'Wish' and 'If only'

We use 'I wish' or 'if only' to express a wish.

• Raima wishes she was acknowledged.

'If only' is stronger and more emphatic than wish.

We can use a clause with 'if only' on its own, or we can add another clause.

• 'If only' I wasn't present there.
• 'If only' I were agile, I would be able to play basketball.

Wish---would

Look at these illustrations:

• I wish you would put those shelves up soon.
• Timmy wishes his neighbors wouldn't make so much noise.

If only you'd try to keep the place tidy. Wish /If only....would expresses a wish for something to happen, or to stop happening.

Wish---the past.

Look at the illustrations:

• I wish I lived in a big city. It's so boring in the country.
• We all wish we had more money, don't we?
• If only I was taller, I might be better at basketball.

'Wish' and 'If only' with a past tense verb express a wish for things to be different.

We can use 'were' instead of 'was'

• If only I were taller, I might be better at basketball.

We cannot use 'would' in these sentences, but we can use 'could'.

• I wish I could swing (but I can't).
• I feel so helpless. if only I could speak the language.

Compare 'Wish' with 'would' and with the past.

• I wish something exciting would happen.( I wish for an action in the future.)
• I wish our farm was bigger.( My farm is small).

'Wish'---the past perfect.

We use 'Wish' and 'If only' with the past perfect to express a wish about the past.

• I wish you had told me about the dance performance. I would have gone.
• I wish I'd got up earlier. I am behind with everything today.
• I wish you hadn't lost that dress. It was a really good one.
• If only Jimmie had been a bit careful, he'd have been all right.

We do not use 'would have' for the past, but we can use 'could have'.

• I wish I could have been at the concert, but I wasn't well.