Talk about regrets and impossible situations — and control the tense that carries the feeling.
Sometimes reality is not what we want. We are too short, we did not study, someone keeps annoying us. In English, the words wish and if only let you step out of the real world and imagine a better one. The tricky part is not the words themselves — it is the tense that follows them, because that tense carries the whole meaning.
The golden idea of this unit: after wish and if only, we "shift the tense one step back into the past". A present wish uses a past tense; a past regret uses the past perfect. Master this shift and you can express regret, frustration and longing like a confident B2 speaker.
Use this to complain about, or long for a change in, a situation right now. The situation is real and present, but you use a past tense to show it is imaginary — the opposite of what is true.
| Reality now | The wish | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I don't have much time. | I wish I had more time. | present situation I want to change |
| I can't drive. | I wish I could drive. | a present ability I lack |
| It's raining. | If only it weren't raining! | emphatic complaint about now |
Use this to look back and regret something that already happened — or did not happen. The event is finished, so you shift one more step back, into the Past Perfect (had + V3).
| What really happened | The regret | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I didn't study. | I wish I had studied harder. | regret about a past action |
| I said no to the job. | If only I had said yes! | emphatic regret about the past |
| You didn't tell me. | I wish you had told me. | regret about another person's past act |
Use wish + would when another person (or thing) does something annoying and repeated, and you want them to change. It carries a feeling of irritation and a request for different behaviour.
If only works exactly like wish — same tenses — but it is stronger and more emotional. Use it when the feeling is intense, and it often stands as an exclamation on its own.
| Tense after "if only" | Example | Feeling |
|---|---|---|
| Past Simple | If only I had a car! | strong present wish |
| Past Perfect | If only I had listened to her! | deep past regret |
| would | If only he would call me back! | frustration at behaviour |
When you want to build a wish, ask yourself one question: am I talking about now, the past, or someone's behaviour? Then the tense chooses itself.
| You mean... | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A situation now you want to change | wish/if only + Past Simple | I wish I lived by the sea. |
| An ability you lack now | wish/if only + could | I wish I could swim. |
| A regret about the past | wish/if only + Past Perfect | I wish I had saved money. |
| Annoyance at someone's behaviour | wish/if only + would | I wish he would hurry up. |
These are the errors B2 students still make with wishes. Check every row against your own English.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| I wish I will be taller. | I wish I were taller. | wish never takes "will"; use "were" for a present state. |
| I wish you will help me. | I wish you would help me. | annoyance at behaviour → would, not "will". |
| I wish I studied harder for yesterday's test. | I wish I had studied harder. | a past regret needs the Past Perfect. |
| I wish I would be more organised. | I wish I were more organised. | don't use "would" about yourself. |
| If only she was here now. | If only she were here now. | careful English uses "were" after wish/if only. |
Two friends talk after a disappointing week. Read it twice and watch each type of wish at work: a present situation, a past regret, and frustration at someone's behaviour.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them to talk about choices you wish you had made differently.
Write 8 sentences about a decision, a regret, or something you wish were different — in your studies, work, hobbies or life. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): regret · hindsight · opportunity · reconsider · impulsive · hasty · priorities · worthwhile
Everyone who knew Selin as a teenager assumed she would become a musician. From the age of nine she carried a battered guitar everywhere, and by sixteen she was playing at weddings, school concerts and small cafes in her home town. Her teachers praised her ear for melody, and her friends were certain that she would one day stand on a stage in front of thousands of people. Music was not simply a hobby for her; it was the language in which she felt most at home. Yet, as she grew older, the question of how to earn a living began to weigh heavily on her mind, and the confident dreams of childhood slowly gave way to more cautious, practical calculations.
Selin often says that if only she had made one different decision, her whole life would look different. Ten years ago, she turned down a place at a music college and chose to study accounting instead, because it seemed safer.
The decision did not happen overnight. Her parents, who had both struggled financially when they were young, gently reminded her how uncertain an artist's income could be. Relatives told stories of talented cousins who had chased their dreams and ended up with nothing. At the time, these warnings felt like wisdom rather than pressure, and Selin genuinely believed she was making the mature, responsible choice. She reasoned that she could always keep music as a hobby, while a respectable degree would guarantee a stable future. On paper, the logic was flawless. In practice, however, something inside her quietly protested every time she filled in another university form.
For years she regretted that choice. 'I wish I had followed my heart,' she used to tell her friends. Although accounting gave her a steady salary, she never felt truly alive at her desk. However, she kept her guitar in the corner of her office and played it every single evening.
Her working days followed a predictable rhythm. She arrived early, checked long columns of numbers, attended meetings about budgets and deadlines, and left when the building had almost emptied. Her colleagues respected her, and more than once she was offered a promotion. Outwardly, she was the picture of success: a smart flat, a reliable car and a job that impressed people at dinner parties. Inwardly, though, she felt a persistent emptiness that no salary could fill. 'You always seem somewhere else,' a colleague once remarked as Selin hummed a tune under her breath during a coffee break. She simply smiled, because she knew exactly where her mind had wandered — back to the stage she had never quite dared to step onto.
Then, in hindsight, she realised something important. Her years in business had not been wasted; therefore, she could now run a company of her own. She had learned about money, contracts and marketing — skills that most young musicians lack. Nevertheless, a quiet voice still whispered, 'What if?'
This realisation grew stronger after she met an old classmate who had become a professional cellist. He was extraordinarily gifted, yet he confessed that he barely understood how to price his own performances or negotiate a fair contract. He had been cheated by dishonest managers more than once and often played for far less than he deserved. Listening to him, Selin understood that her so-called 'wrong turn' had actually equipped her with knowledge that many artists desperately needed. She began to imagine a career that combined both worlds: the creativity she loved and the practical expertise she had spent a decade acquiring. For the first time in years, regret started to feel less like a wall and more like a doorway.
Two years ago, Selin finally reconsidered her priorities. She did not quit impulsively; whereas her younger self might have made a hasty decision, the older Selin planned everything carefully. Moreover, she had saved enough money to survive a difficult first year. Since that moment, she has never looked back.
The transition was far from easy. During the first months she taught only a handful of students and lay awake at night worrying whether she had thrown away her security for nothing. She built a small website, recorded short lessons for social media, and slowly earned a reputation as a patient, encouraging teacher. Word spread from one family to another, and before long her afternoons were fully booked. She also began writing short pieces of music for local businesses, using her understanding of budgets and clients to win contracts that a less experienced musician might have lost. Every skill she had once resented now served her beautifully.
There were setbacks along the way, of course. One important client cancelled a project at the last minute, and for a fortnight she doubted her whole plan. A rival music school opened nearby and lured away two of her best students. Yet each obstacle taught her to adapt rather than surrender. She learned to write clearer contracts, to keep a financial cushion for quiet months, and to trust that difficult periods rarely last forever. The same patience that had made her a careful accountant now made her a resilient entrepreneur, and gradually the anxious nights became rarer and the satisfying days more frequent.
Today Selin teaches guitar and writes songs for advertisements. She earns less than before, yet she has never been happier. 'I used to wish I had chosen differently,' she says. 'Now I know that every road taught me something worthwhile. If only I had understood that sooner.'
When young people ask her for advice, Selin refuses to tell them that following your heart is always the right answer, or that a safe career is always a mistake. Instead, she encourages them to see their lives as a long journey made up of many roads, each one teaching them something they will need later. 'The road you did not take is not lost,' she likes to say. 'Sometimes it is simply waiting a little further ahead, and everything you learned on the other path is exactly what you need to walk it well.' It is a lesson she had to live before she could truly believe it — and one she hopes others will grasp a great deal sooner than she did.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the wish / if only structure.
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. Why did Selin choose accounting instead of music ten years ago?
2. How did her years in business later turn out to be useful?
3. What do you think Selin means when she says 'every road taught me something worthwhile'?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: however, therefore, nevertheless, although, whereas, moreover, since, yet. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Amy asks Paul about the part-time jobs he did at university — and the strange things that happened at his favourite one.
You will hear Paul and Amy talking about the part-time jobs they had as university students. Paul describes his favourite job at a night club and the odd things that happened there. You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
At B1 you linked ideas with and, but, so, because. At B2 you sound noticeably more advanced when you use formal, precise connectors. Four of them are essential this unit — and two familiar ones, although and however, become sharper tools.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| moreover | add a stronger, extra point | I turned it down. Moreover, I never told anyone why. |
| therefore | show a logical result | I had no plan; therefore, I settled for the first offer. |
| whereas | contrast two ideas directly | My friend took the risk, whereas I played it safe. |
| nevertheless | say "in spite of that" | I had many doubts. Nevertheless, I stayed. |
| although | concede a point inside one sentence | Although I regret it, I learned a lot. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | I was afraid. However, I wish I had tried. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Basic linking ✗ | Confident B2 writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| I made a decision. It was fast. I regret it. I learned something. I feel better now. | I made a hasty decision, and I still regret it. Although I wish I had thought harder, the mistake taught me a great deal; therefore, I feel wiser now. My friend hesitated, whereas I acted too fast. |
A "regret" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | A topic sentence that names the regret | When I look back, one decision still fills me with regret. |
| 2. Body | Tell the story. Use the Past Simple for finished events, then wish / if only + Past Perfect for the regret and wish + Past Simple / could for how you feel now. Link with B2 connectors. | I turned down the offer. If only I had said yes! Now I wish I could try again. |
| 3. Closing | A final comment about now or the future | I have learned my lesson; therefore, I will not hesitate next time. |
Write about a decision you regret or something you wish were different in your studies, work or personal life. Use the wish structures of this unit.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...