I Wish… (= Ojalá… )

I Wish… 1. Wishes about the present and the future. 2. Complaints about the present. 3. Regrets about the past.

1. Wishes about the present and the future: I wish I knew English better. (=Ojalá supiera más inglés.) I wish I got more letters.) (= Ojalá recibiera más cartas.)

1. Wishes about the present and the future: Structure: I wish + subject + verb in Past S.+ Compl. I wish Ann lived nearer. I wish I could travel to the Moon.

1. Wishes about the present and the future: Note that: The verb to be after I wish is always were. Examples: I wish Paul were here now. He wishes he were younger.

2. Complaints about the present : It is raining. Jill wants to go out, but not in the rain. She says: I wish it would stop raining. (=Ojalá deje de llover.)

2. Complaints about the present: _The phone has been ringing for five minutes. I wish somebody would answer it. (=Ojalá alguien lo conteste. )

2. Complaints about the present : Structure: I wish + Subject + Conditional + Compl. I wish you wouldnt interrupt me. I wish Sarah would come.

2. Complaints about the present: *We use would for actions not situations. * To complain about things people do repeatedly. *The main subject and the subject of would are different.

3. Regrets about the past : I am sorry that I didn´t know Diana´s phone number and I couldn´t invite her to the party. I wish I had known her number. (=Ojalá yo hubiera sabido su teléfono.)

3. Regrets about the past: Structure: I wish + S. + Past Perfect + Compl. I wish I had known that Gary was ill. I wish I hadn´t eaten so much.

4. If only … (=Si al menos…) If only he were here. (=Si al menos él estuviera aquí…) If only he would stop talking. (=Si al menos dejara de hablar…) If only we hadn´t taken the bus, we would have arrived earlier. (=Si no hubiéramos cogido el autobus, hubiéramos llegado antes,)