Wish and if only

A Introduction

Mark: If only I wasn't so fat.

Jessica: I wish you wouldn't say that. You aren't fat.

We can use I wish or if only to express a wish. Mark wishes he was slimmer. 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 so fat.

If only I wasn't so fat, I would be able to get into these trousers.

Look at these examples.

I wish you would put those shelves up soon.

Tom wishes his neighbours 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.

Look at these examples.

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 sing (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 my life was more interesting. (My life isn't interesting.)

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. I would have gone.

I wish I'd got up earlier. I'm behind with everything today.

I wish you hadn't lost that photo. It was a really good one.

If only David had been a bit more 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 wedding, but I was in New York.