I wish & If only

I wish & If only

We use the constructions ‘I wish’ and ‘if only’ to express regret about something. To speak about regrets in present we can use past simple, could and past continuous.

- I wish you were here.

- If only I knew about it.

To speak about the past we use past perfect.

- If only I had known.

- I wish you had been here.

If we want to speak about the ‘future’ in a sense someone would do or stop doing something, we use ‘I wish’ or ‘if only’ followed by a subject and would.

- I wish he would stop coming late.