Wish Clauses In English we express desire and regret in different ways, and the two most common methods of doing this are in the ‘would’ and ‘wish’ forms. The former, ‘would’, is often used in conjunction with words such as ‘like’ and ‘love’, while ‘wish’ is used with a variety of words, as the following exercises demonstrate. 1. ……………… something to eat or drink? (would, like) 2. Yes please, …………. a glass of milk, if you have any. (would, love) 3. On Saturday we’re all going to a football match. ……………. to come? (would, like) 4. It’s a shame we can’t go to the match. I …………………… to go. (would, love) 5. For once, I …………… to the cinema without having to sit behind a really tall person. (would, like, go) 6. …………… to be able to go to sleep, but I have to finish this essay by tomorrow. (would, love) 7. ……………. to go the theatre this weekend, but I’m too busy. (want, go) Quite often, ‘wish’ is used with a form of the word ‘is’. In the following exercises, ‘is’ changes to ‘were’ or ‘was’. 1. I’m shorter than I want to be. I wish I were/was taller. (wish, is) 2. I wish I weren’t/wasn’t so lazy; then I would have done this work long ago. (wish, is) 3. It is too cold in Prague. I …………… so cold. (wish, is) 4. If I weren’t so old I might be able to afford the cut-price transport tickets. I……………… .younger. (wish, is) 5. I………………able to take you to the zoo, but I have to wash my car (wish, is) 6. I’m tired, but I need to be at work in an hour. I ………………… to work. (wish, go) Sometimes, when speaking about the present, we use wish with ‘had’. When speaking about the past we may use ‘had had’ or ‘hadn’t had’: 1. I wish I had an umbrella, now the rain has started to fall. 2. I do not have a car. I wish I had a car. (wish, have) 3. Paul is in trouble with the police. Now he ………………… that painting (wish, steal) 4. Jane is late for work. Now she ……………………….set her alarm clock last night. (wish, set) 5. Q. Do you have any regrets? A. Yes, I …………………. more in my youth. (wish, travel) 6. My plane leaves early tomorrow morning and I still haven’t packed. I ……………. it earlier. (wish, do) 7. I have no money left. I ……………………more with me. (wish, bring) Rewrite the following sentences, using the ‘wish’ form: 8. I drank far too much beer last night. I ……………………… 9. I saw a house that I thought about buying, but didn’t: I now regret this. I……………………………. 10. John feels that he is too weak, and that his muscles are far too small. John …………………………… 11. I ate nothing for breakfast; now I’m hungry. I ………………………. 12. Robert was born in Scotland but now lives in South Africa; and he misses his homeland terribly. John ………………………… 13. Do you regret coming to the beach without a towel? Do you……………………… 14. I dyed my hair blue, and now I hate it! I ……………………… When we want to express a desire for future events, we may use ‘wish’ along with ‘would’, as the first example demonstrates: 1. We came to the mountains to ski, and there is no snow. I wish it would snow. 2. My brother and sister are fighting over the computer. I ………………………… come to an agreement. 3. I can’t get to sleep because my brother keeps snoring. I ………………………… 4. I’m sitting in a boring English class and I want it to stop. I ………………… end. In wish clauses, most verbs can go alongside ‘would’. However, there are two important verbs which do not: ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. Wish Clauses – Answer Key In English we express desire and regret in different ways, and the two most common methods of doing this are in the ‘would’ and ‘wish’ forms. The former, ‘would’, is often used in conjunction with words such as ‘like’ and ‘love’, while ‘wish’ is used with a variety of words, as the following exercises demonstrate. 1. Would you like something to eat or drink? (would, like) 2. Yes please, would love a glass of milk, if you have any. (would, love) 3. On Saturday we’re all going to a football match. Would you like to come? (would, like) 4. It’s a shame we can’t go to the match. I would love to go. (would, love) 5. For once, I would like to go to the cinema without having to sit behind a really tall person. (would, like, go) 6. I would love to be able to go to sleep, but I have to finish this essay by tomorrow. (would, love) 7. I want to go the theatre this weekend, but I’m too busy. (want, go) Quite often, ‘wish’ is used with a form of the word ‘is’. In the following exercises, ‘is’ changes to ‘were’ or ‘was’. 1. I’m shorter than I want to be. I wish I were/was taller. (wish, is) 2. I wish I weren’t/wasn’t so lazy; then I would have done this work long ago. (wish, is) 3. It is too cold in Prague. I wish it weren’t / wasn’t so cold. (wish, is) 4. If I weren’t so old I might be able to afford the cut-price transport tickets. I wish I was / were younger. (wish, is) 5. I wish I was able to take you to the zoo, but I have to wash my car. (wish, is) 6. I’m tired, but I need to be at work in an hour. I wish I didn’t have to go to work. (wish, go) Sometimes, when speaking about the present, we use wish with ‘had’. When speaking about the past we may use ‘had had’ or ‘hadn’t had’, and this is known as expressing regret: 1. I wish I had an umbrella, now the rain has started to fall. 2. I do not have a car. I wish I had a car. (wish, have) 3. Paul is in trouble with the police. Now he wishes he hadn’t stolen that painting (wish, steal) 4. Jane is late for work. Now she wishes she had set her alarm clock last night. (wish, set) 5. Q. Do you have any regrets? A. Yes, I wish I had travelled more in my youth. (wish, travel) 6. My plane leaves early tomorrow morning and I still haven’t packed. I wish I had done it earlier. (wish, do) 7. I have no money left. I wish I had brought more with me. (wish, bring) Rewrite the following sentences, using a wish clause. 8. I drank far too much beer last night. I wish I hadn’t drunk so much. 9. I saw a house that I thought about buying, but didn’t: I now regret this. I wish I had bought that house. 10. John feels that he is too weak, and that his muscles are far too small. John wishes that he was stronger. 11. I ate nothing for breakfast; now I’m hungry. I wish I had eaten some breakfast. 12. Robert was born in Scotland but now lives in South Africa; and he misses his homeland terribly. Robert wishes he was back in Scotland. 13. Do you regret coming to the beach without a towel? Do you wish you had brought a towel to the beach? 14. I dyed my hair blue, and now I hate it! I wish I had never dyed my hair blue. When we want to express a desire for future events, we may use ‘wish’ along with ‘would’, as the first example demonstrates: 1. We came to the mountains to ski, and there is no snow. I wish it would snow. 2. My brother and sister are fighting over the computer. I wish they would come to an agreement. 3. I can’t get to sleep because my brother keeps snoring. I wish he would stop. 4. I’m sitting in a boring English class and I want it to stop. I wish it would end. In wish clauses, most verbs can go alongside ‘would’. However, there are two important verbs which do not: ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. . (wish, is) 2. I wish I weren’t/wasn’t so lazy; then I would have done this work long ago. (wish, is) 3. It is too cold in Prague. I …………… so cold. (wish, . were/was taller. (wish, is) 2. I wish I weren’t/wasn’t so lazy; then I would have done this work long ago. (wish, is) 3. It is too cold in Prague. I wish it weren’t