1. Regrets
Regrets are:
- things that you did, but wish you had not
- things you did not do, but wish you did
To talk about regrets, use:
- subject + wish + past perfect
*The past perfect = had + perfect participle (p.p.)
P.p is done, gone, seen, eaten, etc.
| Regret | Subject | Wish | Past perfect | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I did not study hard. | I | wish | I had studied harder | I wish I had studied harder. |
| He did not go with her. | He | wishes | he had gone with her | He wishes he had gone with her. |
| Denise said something stupid. | Denise | wishes | she hadn’t said that | Denise wishes she hadn’t said that. |
| I ate three pizzas for lunch. | I | wish | I hadn’t eaten three pizzas for lunch | I wish I hadn’t eaten three pizzas for lunch. |
| We did not see the movie. | We | wish | we had seen the movie | We wish we had seen the movie. |
| They did something wrong. | They | wish | she hadn’t done that | They wish she hadn’t done that. |
| I called her a ‘horse-faced idiot’. | I | wish | I hadn’t called her a ‘horse-faced idiot’ | I wish I hadn’t called her a ‘horse-faced idiot’. Now she won’t talk to me. |
*Note: Remember that wish pushes a sentence back one tense, so although this is about a past event, it uses the past perfect tense, not the past tense.
2. Exercises
1. Finish these sentences:
(i) I wish I had … when I was at school.
(ii) Charlie wishes he hadn’t … his wife’s father.
(iii) The government wishes it could …
2. Think of three regrets from the past, and explain them using the ‘I wish + past perfect’ structure.