English Conditionals - WISH

Wish in the Present

Wish + Simple Past

Ex:
I wish I had more money.
I wish I knew how to speak French.

Similar to the 2nd conditional (present unreal)
I wish I had more money. If I had more money, I would buy a car.

Shows a desire to change a situation in the present

Hypothetical situations that are often impossible

Wish in the Past (Past Regrets)

Wish + Past Perfect

Ex:
I wish I had studied harder in university.
I wish I had been a better student in university.

Similar to the 3rd conditional (past unreal)

I wish I had studied harder. If I had studied harder, I would have passed all my classes.

Shows regrets in the past



Ø The verb to be is always “were”. This is true for all subjects.
Ex:
I wish it were hot outside.
I wish he were more patient.


Ø Wish is very common with the verbs could and had.
Ex:
I wish I could speak French.
I wish I had more money.



Here is the Word file to print for students. Click on the picture and copy and paste the file.