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 ride a bike. | I wish I could ride a bike. | 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 trip. | 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 bike! | 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 my pocket 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 school life, hobbies, sports or friendships. 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 thought she would grow up to be a wonderful artist. From the age of nine she carried a sketchbook everywhere, and by eleven she was drawing comics for her friends, painting scenery for the school play and filling notebook after notebook with characters. Her art teacher praised her imagination, and her friends were certain that one day her drawings would hang in a real gallery. Drawing was not simply a hobby for her; it was the language in which she felt most at home. Yet, as she grew a little older, the fear of failing in front of everyone began to weigh on her mind, and the bold dreams of her younger days slowly gave way to more cautious, careful choices.
Selin often says that if only she had made one different decision, her whole life would look different. Last year, she turned down a place on the school art team and joined the quiet writing club instead, because it seemed safer.
The decision did not happen overnight. Some classmates, who had entered the big art competition before and lost, gently reminded her how tough the judges could be. Others told stories of talented friends who had tried and been laughed at. At the time, these warnings felt like good advice rather than fear, and Selin genuinely believed she was making the sensible, grown-up choice. She reasoned that she could always keep drawing at home, while the writing club felt calm and easy. On paper, the logic seemed perfect. In practice, though, something inside her quietly protested every time she watched the art team head off to paint.
For a while she regretted that choice. 'I wish I had followed my heart,' she used to tell her friends. Although the writing club was fun, she never felt truly excited the way she did with a pencil in her hand. However, she kept her sketchbook in the corner of her room and drew in it every single evening.
Her school days followed a familiar rhythm. She went to lessons, wrote short stories for the club, helped edit the class newsletter and packed up when the bell rang. Her friends respected her, and more than once she was asked to lead a writing group. Outwardly, she seemed perfectly happy: good marks, kind friends and a hobby that pleased her parents. Inwardly, though, she felt a quiet emptiness that no gold star could fill. 'You always seem somewhere else,' a friend once said as Selin doodled a superhero in the margin of her notebook. She simply smiled, because she knew exactly where her mind had wandered — back to the art team she had never quite dared to join.
Then, in hindsight, she realised something important. Her time in the writing club had not been wasted; therefore, she could now create something entirely her own. She had learned how to build a story, plan a project and choose the perfect words — skills that most young artists lack. Nevertheless, a quiet voice still whispered, 'What if?'
This realisation grew stronger after she met an old friend who had become a gifted painter. He was extraordinarily talented, yet he confessed that he never knew how to turn his beautiful pictures into a real story, or how to plan a long project without giving up halfway. Listening to him, Selin understood that her so-called 'wrong turn' had actually given her exactly the skills many young artists needed. She began to imagine an opportunity that joined both worlds: the drawing she loved and the storytelling she had spent a whole year learning. For the first time in ages, regret started to feel less like a wall and more like a doorway.
A few months ago, Selin finally reconsidered her priorities. She did not decide impulsively; whereas her younger self might have made a hasty decision, the older Selin planned everything carefully. Moreover, she had saved enough pocket money to buy the paints and paper she would need. Since that day, she has never looked back.
The change was not easy at first. In the beginning she showed her comics to only a few friends and lay awake at night wondering whether she had been silly to try again. She started a little sketch-blog, drew short comic strips to share online and slowly earned a name as a patient, funny storyteller. Word spread from one classmate to another, and before long everyone wanted to read her next strip. She also began drawing clever cartoons for the school magazine, using her writing skills to make each one witty and clear. Every skill she had once thought was a waste now helped her beautifully.
There were setbacks along the way, of course. One time the school magazine lost her best comic strip, and she had to draw the whole thing again from memory. Another pupil started a rival comic that was very popular for a while. Yet each problem taught her to try a new way rather than give up. She learned to keep spare copies of her work, to save her best ideas for later, and to trust that hard weeks rarely last forever. The same patience that had made her a careful writer now made her a determined young artist, and gradually the worried nights grew rarer and the happy days more common.
Today Selin draws comics and paints scenery for the school play. She has less free time 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 younger children ask her for advice, Selin refuses to tell them that following your heart is always the right answer, or that playing it safe 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 join the writing club instead of the art team last year?
2. How did her time in the writing club 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 easy project. |
| 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 place. 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 school life, hobbies or friendships. 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...