Wishes, Regrets & Advice

English for Bachillerato

I. Wishes• Sólo como recordatorio: se usa el verbo WISH en fórmulas de

cortesía:

Ejemplos:

I wish you good luck!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

My family wishes you a pleasant stay in London.

Mary and I wish you a happy birthday!

I. Wishes• Se usan para expresar lo que nos gustaría que ocurriese en el

momento en que hablamos.• El sujeto puede ser la misma persona u otra diferente.

Ejemplos:

I wish I knew your telephone number (but I don't know it)

John wishes he had enough money to take you on holidays (but he hasn't)

Don't you ever wish you could fly? (because you can't)

Tomorrow is my birthday. I wish you didn't have to work (but you have)

I. Wishes• La construcción es:

a) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <verb in Past>b) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <would / could>

Ejemplos:

Jack's going on a trip to Mexico soon. I wish I was going too. (I'm not going)

I wish you didn't have to go so soon. (you have to go)

Do you wish you lived near the sea? (you don't live near the sea)

I wish I knew what to do about the problem (but I don't!)

I. Wishes• La construcción es:

a) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <verb in Past>b) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <would / could>

Ejemplos:

It rains a lot here. I wish it wouldn't rain so much!

I've met that man before. I wish I could remember his name.

Si usamos TO BE en la segunda oración, WERE es lo usual en BrE:

You're in Berlin now. I wish I were there with you!

I'm only 15. I wish I were older!

I. Wishes

En lugar de <sujeto> + WISH, podemos usar IF ONLY… pero sólo cuando el sujeto es el hablante mismo:

If only I knew your telephone number (but I don't know it)

Tomorrow is my birthday. If only you didn't have to work (but you have)

If only John had enough money to take you on holidays(1) (but he hasn't)

(1) En este caso, soy YO quien desea que John tuviera suficiente dinero.

II. Regrets• Se usan para expresar algo que (no) debiera haber ocurrido.• El sujeto puede ser la misma persona u otra diferente.

Ejemplos:

I wish I had known your telephone number (but I didn't know it)

John wishes he had had enough money to take you on holidays (but he hadn't)

Yesterday was my birthday. I wish you had come to my party (but you didn't)

II. Regrets• La construcción es:

a) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <verb in Past Perfect>b) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <would / could> <Perfect>

Ejemplos:

Mum wishes you had had success in your job.

I wish we hadn't bought this house!

We wish you hadn't forgotten your suitcase.

II. Regrets• La construcción es:

a) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <verb in Past Perfect>b) <sujeto> WISH (that) <subject> <could> <Perfect>

Ejemplos:

We wish you could have finished writing your novel on time.

I love London! I wish I could have stayed longer here.

II. Regrets

Aquí también podemos usar IF ONLY… con la misma restricción:

If only I had known your telephone number

Yesterday was my birthday. If only you had come to my party.

If only John had had enough money to take you on holidays(1)

(1) En este caso, soy YO quien desea que John hubiese tenido suficiente dinero.

III. Advice• Se usan para expresar sentimientos como "yo, en tu lugar,", "si

yo fuera tú", y tienen valor a futuro.• La segunda oración usa el modal <would>

Ejemplos:

If I were you, I wouldn't buy that car. (Don't buy it!)

I wouldn't quit that job, if I were you.

If you were me, would you see a doctor?

What would she do if she were you?