Wishes and regrets

Grammar notes: wishes and regrets You can use this structure when you would like things to be different from the way they actually are.
Use the verb wish to refer to how you would like things to be in the present or to talk about how you would like things to be in the future.
It can also be used to talk about the way things were in the past, but obviously the past can't be changed.
The general concept is sometimes known as 'wishful thinking' and often coincides with the use in Spanish of 'ojalá'. But if you want to say 'ojalá' and nothing else, say 'if only'. Wishes about the present (and the future)
If you want to talk about your present situation, you can use the structure wish + past simple or continuous. For example:
I haven't got any money. I wish I had some money.

I don't earn much money. I wish I earned a lot of money.

We're all living in a small flat. I wish we weren't living in a small flat. I wish we were living in a big flat.
The same form can be used to talk about someone else's situation. However, there is another structure that you use to talk about actions that take place in the present, but you want them to change in the future. This structure is used to talk about another person, and generally about things you don't like. The structure is wish + would/could + infinitive. For example:
Your friend is always borrowing money from you because he never seems to have his bank card with him. You could say to him:
I wish you wouldn't keep borrowing money from me.

I wish you would remember to go to the bank from time to time.
Perhaps the same friend does lots of things that irritate you. Maybe he phones you early in the morning when you're still in bed. He might arrange to meet you and then turn up late. You could say to him:
I wish you wouldn't phone me so early in the morning.

I wish you would wait until later.

I wish you would tell me when you're going to be late.

Wishes about the future (and the present)
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