Things I Wish Were Different
I can separate a present wish, a regret about the past and a complaint about changeable behaviour.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Your situation
Lina works in a noisy room. She chose the desk beside the corridor last month, and now regrets that choice. Her colleague repeatedly leaves the door open. Lina has three different messages: she wants a quieter room now, she regrets her earlier choice, and she wants her colleague’s behaviour to change.
Read the situation transcript
Lina works in a noisy room. She chose the desk beside the corridor last month, and now regrets that choice. Her colleague repeatedly leaves the door open. Lina has three different messages: she wants a quieter room now, she regrets her earlier choice, and she wants her colleague’s behaviour to change.
Which message looks back to a completed past choice?
Compare your idea
Regretting her decision to choose the desk beside the corridor.
How it works
For an unreal present wish, use a past form: I wish the room were quieter. For regret about an earlier event, use past perfect: I wish I had chosen another desk.
Wish plus would can express a desired change in behaviour or events: I wish they would close the door. It is not a general replacement for every present wish. Match the form to the time and kind of dissatisfaction.
Present: wish + past. Past regret: wish + had + participle. Desired change: wish + would + base.
Notice this
I wish the room were quieter.
This concerns the present situation.
Compare this
I wish I had chosen another desk.
This concerns a past decision.
Hear the examples
I wish the room were quieter.
This concerns the present situation.
I wish I had chosen another desk.
This concerns a past decision.
I wish they would close the door.
This asks for a change in repeated behaviour.
If only I had checked the room first.
If only intensifies the past regret.
One mistake worth avoiding
Instead of: I wish I would have chosen another desk.
Say: I wish I had chosen another desk.
Use past perfect for this straightforward regret about a past choice.
You say
Hear the prompt, answer aloud, then deliberately reveal or hear one possible model. Check it and retry with a changed detail.
Your turn 1
Express a wish about the current room.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
I wish the room were quieter.
Check yourself: Use a past form for present unreality.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 2
Express regret about the earlier desk choice.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
I wish I had chosen a different desk.
Check yourself: Make the past reference clear.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 3
Turn the repeated door problem into a desired change.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
I wish my colleague would close the door.
Check yourself: Use would for the behaviour you want to change.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Two guided self-checks
Say or write your answer before opening a model.
Self-check 1
Classify: “I wish I had chosen another desk.”
Compare a model and explanation
Past regret.
Had chosen looks back to the earlier choice.
Self-check 2
Make a present wish using have: There is not enough space now.
Compare a model and explanation
I wish we had more space.
Had here is simple past for present unreality, not a past-perfect auxiliary.
Check your understanding
Choose one answer to each question, then check your answers. One of the ten questions is listening.
Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key after attempting all ten questions.
Answer key with explanations
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For a present wish: I wish we ___ more space.
had: A past form expresses the unreal present situation.
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For the earlier choice: I wish I ___ another desk.
had chosen: Past perfect expresses regret about the completed past choice.
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Which sentence asks for changed behaviour?
I wish they would close the door.: Would close targets a desired change.
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Which wish is about the present?
I wish the room were quieter.: Were quieter describes the current unreal alternative.
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In “I wish we had more space”, had is ___.
a past form of have referring to present unreality: There is no following participle; had expresses the unreal present state.
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Correct “I wish I had choose the other desk.”
I wish I had chosen the other desk.: Past perfect needs chosen after had.
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Can wish plus would replace every present wish?
No: Would is suited to a desired change, not every unreal state or past regret.
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Which wish concerns a past decision?
Choosing another desk: Had chosen identifies the past regret.
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Which sequence keeps the three meanings distinct?
I wish it were quieter; I wish I had chosen differently; I wish they would close the door.: The correct sequence correctly marks present state, past regret and desired change.
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What question helps select the form?
Am I changing the present picture, regretting the past or asking for a change?: Time reference and the type of desired alternative determine the pattern.
Take it with you
I can separate a present wish, a regret about the past and a complaint about changeable behaviour.