This section follows the third conditional because it is very similar to that form. However, before we get into ‘I wish’ and ‘If only’ in relation to the Third Conditional, let’s review some other important points about using ‘wish’, which were mentioned in the Past Simple and Past Perfect sections.
Wishes describing Present Situations
When we wish about a present situation, we use the Past Simple, because it is an ‘unreal present’. This is similar to the Second Conditional. For example:
- I wish I had more money.
- I wish I didn’t have to work.
- I wish it wasn’t raining.
- I wish I was/ were taller.
Wishes describing annoying habits.
When we describe people’s annoying habits, and how we wish they didn’t happen, we use:
I wish + subject + would/ wouldn’t + verb
For example:
- I wish you would be more careful.
- I wish you wouldn’t do that.
- I wish my neighbours would stop their dog parking.
- I wish buses would come on time. (Here we could also say ….. came on time)
Wishes describing Past Situations
When we wish about a past situation, we use the Past Perfect, because it is the ‘unreal past’. This is similar to the Third Conditional, where we imagine an alternative past. For example:
- I wish I hadn’t stayed out so late.
- I wish you had told me about it.
- I really wish I had just said nothing.
‘If only’ describing Past Situations
‘If only I ….’ is very similar to ‘I wish I ….’.. However, when we use ‘If only’, we are more likely to express the outcome of the action, which is very similar to the third conditional. For example:
- If only I had checked the route, we wouldn’t have gotten stuck in traffic.
- If only we had been ten minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have missed it.
- If only I had said something, everything might have been okay.
You will notice that the result form takes the same structure as the result clause of the Third Conditional.
As with Third and Second Conditional, the ‘If Only clause’ could be used to describe a present outcome, which would be same as a ‘Mixed Conditional’.
The next section deals with Mixed Conditionals which mix 2nd and 3rd, and 3rd and 2nd Conditionals.