Expressing Regret - Grammar

Learn to express regret

Also Appears In: Three Step English for Intermediate Learners Level 3.2 Can Do English

Lesson Transcript

Let's look at the sentence pattern.

This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow.

I wish [NOUN] [PAST TENSE VERB PHRASE]

Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern.

I wish we were fishing right now.

"I wish" is the key phrase we use to show regret — something we want, but don’t have right now.

"We" is the noun.

"Were fishing right now" is the past tense verb phrase — it tells us what the speaker wants, but isn't happening.

So, the speaker enjoys fishing — but they’re not doing it. That’s why they say, "I wish we were fishing right now."

Now let's look at some speaking examples.

I wish your family came by more often.

Can you see how the pattern applies here?

We start with "I wish." "I" is the noun. "Your family came by more often." is the past tense verb phrase, using the verb "came."

Next...

I wish I could go swimming all the time.

We start with "I wish." The noun is "I." The past tense verb phrase is "could go swimming all the time." "Could" is the verb used.

Let's try one more,

I wish the tennis club was open later.

We start with "I wish." Then the noun is "the tennis club." The verb phrase uses "was", and is "was open later."

One last example.

I wish I had more free time to go to concerts.

We start with "I wish." The noun is "I", and the verb is "had," with the phrase being "had more free time to go to concerts."

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