Wish Clauses

Often, wish is used with a form of the word is. In the following exercises, is
changes to were or was.
1. Im shorter than I want to be. I wish I were/was taller. (wish, is)
2. I wish I werent/wasnt so lazy; then I would have done this work long ago.
(wish, is)
3. It is too cold in Prague. I .. so cold. (wish, is)
4. If I werent so old I might be able to afford the cut-price transport tickets.
I...younger. (wish, is)
5. Iable to take you to the zoo, but I have to wash my car (wish, is)
6. Im tired, but I need to be at work in an hour. I to work. (wish,
go)
Sometimes, when speaking about the present, we use wish with had. When speaking
about the past we may use had had or hadnt had:
1. I wish I had an umbrella, now the rain has started to fall.
2. I do not have a car. I wish I had a car. (wish, have)
3. Paul is in trouble with the police. Now he .. that painting (wish,
steal)
4. Jane is late for work. Now she .set her alarm clock last
night. (wish, set)
5. Q. Do you have any regrets? A. Yes, I . more in my youth. (wish,
travel)
6. My plane leaves early tomorrow morning and I still havent packed. I
. it earlier. (wish, do)
7. I have no money left. I more with me. (wish, bring)
Rewrite the following sentences, using the wish form:
8. I drank far too much beer last night. I ..
9. I saw a house that I thought about buying, but didnt: I now regret this.
I.
10. John feels that he is too weak, and that his muscles are far too small. John
..
11. I ate nothing for breakfast; now Im hungry. I .
12. Robert was born in Scotland but now lives in South Africa; and he misses his
homeland terribly. John
13. Do you regret coming to the beach without a towel? Do you
14. I dyed my hair blue, and now I hate it! I ..
When we want to express a desire for future events, we may use wish along with
would, as the first example demonstrates:
1. We came to the mountains to ski, and there is no snow. I wish it would snow.
2. My brother and sister are fighting over the computer. I
come to an agreement.
3. I cant get to sleep because my brother keeps snoring. I
4. Im sitting in a boring English class and I want it to stop. I ..end.

In wish clauses, most verbs can go alongside would. However, there are two
important verbs which do not: to be and to have.

Wish Clauses Answer Key

Quite often, wish is used with a form of the word is. In the following exercises, is
changes to were or was.
1. Im shorter than I want to be. I wish I were/was taller. (wish, is)
2. I wish I werent/wasnt so lazy; then I would have done this work long ago.
(wish, is)
3. It is too cold in Prague. I wish it werent / wasnt so cold. (wish, is)
4. If I werent so old I might be able to afford the cut-price transport tickets. I wish I
was / were younger. (wish, is)
5. I wish I was able to take you to the zoo, but I have to wash my car. (wish, is)
6. Im tired, but I need to be at work in an hour. I wish I didnt have to go to work.
(wish, go)
Sometimes, when speaking about the present, we use wish with had. When speaking
about the past we may use had had or hadnt had, and this is known as expressing
regret:
1. I wish I had an umbrella, now the rain has started to fall.
2. I do not have a car. I wish I had a car. (wish, have)
3. Paul is in trouble with the police. Now he wishes he hadnt stolen that painting
(wish, steal)
4. Jane is late for work. Now she wishes she had set her alarm clock last night.
(wish, set)
5. Q. Do you have any regrets? A. Yes, I wish I had travelled more in my youth.
(wish, travel)
6. My plane leaves early tomorrow morning and I still havent packed. I wish I had
done it earlier. (wish, do)
7. I have no money left. I wish I had brought more with me. (wish, bring)
Rewrite the following sentences, using a wish clause.
8. I drank far too much beer last night. I wish I hadnt drunk so much.
9. I saw a house that I thought about buying, but didnt: I now regret this. I wish I
had bought that house.
10. John feels that he is too weak, and that his muscles are far too small. John wishes
that he was stronger.// he had exercised more.
11. I ate nothing for breakfast; now Im hungry. I wish I had eaten some breakfast.
12. Robert was born in Scotland but now lives in South Africa; and he misses his
homeland terribly. Robert wishes he was back in Scotland.// he handt left
Scotland
13. Do you regret coming to the beach without a towel? Do you wish you had
brought a towel to the beach?
14. I dyed my hair blue, and now I hate it! I wish I had never dyed my hair blue.

When we want to express a desire for future events, we may use wish along with
would, as the first example demonstrates:
1. We came to the mountains to ski, and there is no snow. I wish it would snow.
2. My brother and sister are fighting over the computer. I wish they would come to
an agreement.
3. I cant get to sleep because my brother keeps snoring. I wish he would stop.
4. Im sitting in a boring English class and I want it to stop. I wish it would end.
In wish clauses, most verbs can go alongside would. However, there are two
important verbs which do not: to be and to have.