Wish en inglés

Wish en inglés ¿sabes qué significa?

Today I would like to explain to you how to use «I wish» as well as the verb regret.

«I wish» means «ojalá», «ya me gustaría».

RULES:

• I wish + past simple = sometimes possible and sometimes impossible

Example: I wish I was taller (impossible to get)  I wish I won the lottery (possible to get)

Cuando tenemos el verbo to be, podemos utilizar was y were con las personas I/he/she.

I wish I was/were taller = esto es así porque es un sentido hipotético, cuando esto ocurre, were se puede utilizar también con I y la 3ª persona del singular.

• I wish + past perfect (had + past participle) = always impossible, it’s past
•      Example: I studied French at school. I wish I had studied English as I could find a better job now (impossible to get-it’s past)

«Regret» is a verb which means «lamentarse», «arrepentirse».

RULES:

1. Regret + -ing = arrepentirse de algo (algo que se hizo en el pasado)

Ejemplo: I regret studying biology when I was at university as I can’t find a job now. 

Me gusta explicar esto de la siguiente manera para que el alumno lo entienda bien. Nos preguntamos: When do I regret? = now y When did I study biology? = in the past. Tenemos por tanto present (now) y past, cuando esto ocurra, Regret + ing (el ing indica el pasado).

Otro ejemplo: I regret going to the cinema last week. I didn’t like the film at all. Hacemos la prueba: When do I regret? = now y When did I go to the cinema? = last week = past. 

2. Regret + to + say/ tell = lamento decirte / informarte / comunicarte de o siento decirte/ informarte/ comunicarte

Ejemplo: I regret to tell you that we can’t go away for the weekend because I have to work.

En este caso regret suele aparecer con los verbos say y tell. Hacemos las preguntas de nuevo: When do I regret? = now y When am I going to tell you something? = now. Tenemos entonces present y present,por tanto, regret + to.

Si es negativo, simplemente añadimos not delante de -ing  Example: I regret not telling my father the truth.

EXERCISE:

1. I wish I ________________ speak English (can)
2. I wish I  ________________ a new car (have)
3. I regret  ________________ to the party as I saw my ex-wife (go)
4. I wish I  ________________ my father about failing my English exam as he is furious with me (tell)
5. I wish I  ________________ play a musical instrument (can)
6. I regret  ________________ you that you have an exam (tell)
7. I regret  ________________ engineering like my mother. I would be an engineer now like her (study)
8. I wish  I ________________ rich (be)
9. I regret  ________________ my house in Madrid, I don’t like the city, it’s quite noisy and stressing (buy)
10. I wish I  ________________ my house in Madrid, I don’t like the city, it’s quite noisy and stressing (buy)

KEYS:

1. I wish I __could________ speak English (can)
2. I wish I  __had_________ a new car (have)
3. I regret  ___going_______ to the party as I saw my ex-wife (go)
4. I wish I  __hadn’t told_____ my father about failing my English exam as he is furious with me (tell)
5. I wish I  ___could________ play a musical instrument (can)
6. I regret  ___to tell________ you that you have an exam (tell)
7. I regret  __not_studying___ engineering like my mother. I would be an engineer now like her (study)
8. I wish  I __was/were______ rich (be)
9. I regret  __buying________ my house in Madrid, I don’t like the city, it’s quite noisy and stressing (buy)
10. I wish I  ___I hadn’t bought___ my house in Madrid, I don’t like the city, it’s quite noisy and stressing (buy)

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