Grammar

If only/ I wishIf only/ I wish

In the present
We can use wish/if only + a past form to talk about a
present situation we would like to be different.
I wish you didn't
live so far away.
If only we knew what to do.

In the past
We can use wish/if only + a past perfect form to talk
about something we would like to change about the past.
They wish they hadn't
eaten so much
chocolate. They're
feeling very sick now.
If only I'd studied harder
when I was at school.

We can use wish + would(n't) to show that we are
annoyed with what someone or something does or
doesn't do. We often feel that they are unlikely or
unwilling to change.
I wish it would rain. The
garden really needs
some water.
If only he would save
money

I wish I did not go to work tomorrow.

They wish they hadn't taken the wrong turning.

If only he had studied harder, he could have
passed his exams.