Three Step English for Intermediate Learners - Practice #20 - Expressing Regret - Exercises
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Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? I wish we fishing right now. I wish we fishing right now. Were. Were. I wish we were fishing right now. I wish we were fishing right now.

"Were" is correct because we use the past simple after "I wish" to express an unreal or hypothetical situation. Something that is not true right now, but we would like to be different. Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? I wish your family by more often. I wish your family by more often. Came, came. I wish your family came by more often.

I wish your family came by more often. Come is in the present tense, whereas came is the past simple tense of come. Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? I wish the weather nicer today. I wish the weather nicer today. Was. Was. I wish the weather was nicer today. I wish the weather was nicer today.

Even though we're talking about today, we use the past tense "was" to show that the situation is not real or not true right now. You may also hear people using "were" in place of "was" in this pattern. This is grammatically correct, but less commonly used than "was." Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? I wish I go swimming all the time. I wish I go swimming all the time.

Could. Could. I wish I could go swimming all the time. I wish I could go swimming all the time. Can is present tense and so is not a valid answer here. Unscramble the words to make a sentence. Ready? I. I wish. I wish my. I wish my friend.

I wish my friend lived... I wish my friend lived closer... I wish my friend lived closer to... I wish my friend lived closer to me. I wish my friend lived closer to me. Unscramble the words to make a sentence. I. I wish.

I wish my phone had more storage. I wish my phone had more storage. Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

I wish weekends lasting or lasted longer so I could spend more time fishing. I wish weekends lasting or lasted longer so I could spend more time fishing. Lasted. Lasted. I wish weekends lasted longer so I could spend more time fishing. Lasted is used here because lasting is not past tense, but the present participle.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? I wish the tennis club was or will open later. I wish the tennis club was or will open later. Was. Was. I wish the tennis club was open later. Was is used here because it is in the past tense. If you want to talk about a change in the future, you could say, I hope the tennis club will stay open later.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? I wish I had or have more free time to go to concerts. I wish I had or have more free time to go to concerts. Had. Had. I wish I had more free time to go to concerts. Had is used here because it is in the past tense. Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

I wish I can or could lose more weight. I wish I can or could lose more weight. Could. Could. I wish I could lose more weight. Could is used here because can is the present tense and so not valid. Listen to what I say. What is the past tense verb being used in the verb phrase? I wish weekends lasted longer so I could spend more time fishing. Listen one more time.

I wish weekends lasted longer so I could spend more time fishing. Did you hear lasted? Lasted is the past tense verb of the phrase. How about I wish the tennis club was open later. Let's listen one more time. I wish the tennis club was open later. Did you hear was? Was is the past tense verb of the phrase. Next. I wish I had more free time to go to concerts. One more time.

I wish I had more free time to go to concerts. Did you hear "had"? "Had" is the past tense verb of the phrase. Next. I wish we were fishing right now. One more time. I wish we were fishing right now. Did you hear "were"? "Were" is the past tense verb of the phrase. And... I wish I could lose more weight. One more time. I wish I could lose more weight. Did you hear "could"?

"Could" is the past tense verb of the phrase. Thank you for watching! Now you know how to express regret in English using "I wish" and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway on EnglishClass101.com.