053 How to express wish, regret and if only
How to express wishes and regrets
Welcome back to another episode of the Art of Business English. This week I am joined by my colleague Abel as we discuss how to you wishes and regrets in English. In this interview, we cover the four main uses of wish and how they share similarities with the conditional tenses.
If you have ever struggled to understand the correct use of wishes and regrets in English then you are going to love today’s episode.
So, let’s get started.
Episode transcript
Andrew:
Hi there, Andrew Ambrosius. Welcome to another episode of The Art of Business English. Now, I’m here again joined with my colleague Abel, helping us today talking about wishes and regrets in English. So, basically the focus of today’s episode, we’ll be on the four areas of talking about wishes and regrets in English. If you don’t know what wishes and regrets are, well basically a wish is a desire in Spanish ojalá. And regret is to … something that you regret which would be lamentar in Spanish.
Andrew:
So, we’re going to be focusing on the four ways that you can use wishes and regrets in English. Abel is quite versed in explaining grammar. He is a grammar specialist here at The Art of Business English. So, I’m going to get him to help explained today the four uses of wishes and regrets. And as always, this episode, we just chucked the camera up. We haven’t really rehearsed or anything, so bear with us as we do our best to explain this as easy as possible. Now Abel, how are you buddy? Good to have you here.
Abel:
Good. Thank you. It’s my pleasure.
Andrew:
Yeah, it’s always good to have you back again.
Abel:
Thank you.
Andrew:
So, basically, we’re going to be looking at the four areas of wishes and regrets. They’re, obviously infinitives, so wish plus infinitive. There is wish plus the simple past, wish plus the past perfect, and wish plus conditional.
Abel:
Definitely. I would like to go through the four usages in brief and then we can discuss each one if you want. So, the first usage is a wish plus the infinitive. Actually, we use wish plus the infinitive only informal context, would not use this structure, for example, in our everyday speech. Instead of saying for example, want or would like, which is quite formal. When you write for example, you say, “I wish,” I’ll give you an example. “I wish to inform you, of my absence tomorrow.”
Andrew:
Okay. So, you can use that in a formal context [crosstalk 00:02:43].
Abel:
Yeah, especially in writing. Imagine that you had a meeting for example, and that you wouldn’t be able to attend that meeting. So, you could like email, for example, the chairman or your manager saying, “Okay, that you can’t do it.” So, in a formal way you could proceed saying, I wish to inform you of my absence tomorrow for instance.
Andrew:
Okay. So, basically this in this context, Wish is being used in the present, now it has been used
Abel:
Yes, probably infinitive.
Andrew:
Plus, infinitive. I mean, I’ve seen it as well, you could use it in formal communication with your clients as well? Like for example, if you want them to deliver someone some bad news, you could say, “I wish to inform you that your contract has been cancelled.” Would that work?
Abel:
Yeah, you can do that actually. But usually we use regrets in this context. [crosstalk 00:03:40]. “I regret to inform you,” for example, of something, it means that you’re going to give some bad news.
Andrew:
Some bad news. So…
Abel:
And you need to use, of course regret plus the infinitive, because in English you need to know that we use regret plus the ing form as well. And usually we use regret plays the ing form, when we talk about something that is okay. Parts of the past, if I say for example, “I regret giving you bad news.” It means that I have already given you bad news and now I regret that.
Andrew:
Okay. So, regret with gerund would be in the past?
Abel:
Yes.
Andrew:
And regret plus infinitive would be giving …
Abel:
In the future.
Andrew:
-bad news now and into the future
Abel:
Absolutely.
Andrew:
Okay, excellent. So, the first one is wish plus infinitive for you to say, “I would like or I desire.” In a formal way, usually written?
Abel:
Yes.
Andrew:
Regret is used in the same way with infinitive to give bad news.
Abel:
To give bad news. I mean for the future. And now it’s something that you haven’t said and regret plays the ing form to, feel sorry for what you have said.
Andrew:
Okay, perfect.
Abel:
Or what you have done.
Andrew:
Okay. I think that’s clear.
Abel:
Okay. The second usage is a wish plus the past simple. Actually, we use this structure when we talk about a wish in the present or in the future. For example, when you say, “I wish,” or “If only, I knew how to use a computer.”
Andrew:
If only okay.
Abel:
Yes, because here we can use both structures. We can use wish or if only and the meeting is the same.
Andrew:
So, how would you translate ‘If only’ into Spanish?
Abel:
I would say, “Si solamente.”
Andrew:
Okay. Si solamente?
Abel:
Yeah. For example, “I wish I knew how to use a computer.” Meaning that I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it.
Andrew:
We can use ojalá, ojalá pudiera.
Abel:
Yes.
Andrew:
I think it’s important to note that this simple past, wish plus the simple past in Spanish, you would use the subjunctive following the subjunctive form. So, you would say, ojalá fuera. So, it’s important to remember for our listeners that we tell them that, I think they need to be aware that the subjunctive form doesn’t exist in English. So, it needs to be careful not to confuse tenses or when you see a subjunctive. So, here it’s very important that you know the rule. If you’re using a wish plus simple past, you need to make sure you use a simple past and it means this. So, how do we use it? What is it for?
Abel:
Actually, we use it to express a wish in the present or in the future. For example, when you say, “I wish I knew how to use a computer.” it means that at that time of speaking, you don’t know how to use one, and of course you would like to. Okay. Or you have this switch to learn how to use it. Okay. Also, when you say, “I wish I were a millionaire.”
Andrew:
Yeah, sort of most commonly known.
Abel:
Yeah.
Andrew:
I wish I was rich.
Abel:
Yeah, that’s right. The thing is, you need to know that the form of the verb to be, in this structure of wish plus past simple, is to be where all the time and for all persons, for I, you, he, et cetera.
Andrew:
You can’t interchange, again and say, “I wish I was rich, or I wish I were rich.”
Abel:
Better not. I would say the more correct form is, “I wish I were,” actually. Yes, because that is not the real past. It’s true that when students get introduced to this structure, okay, they see wish plus past simple. But actually, the past simple refers to something that sauce it and completely finished in the past. And here we are talking about a situation that hasn’t taken place at all. It’s actually syntactically speaking; the correct word is unreal past and not past simple.
Andrew:
So, unreal past would be with were. And real past would be with was.
Abel:
Absolutely.
Andrew:
Okay. But in practice we can use both now?
Abel:
Yeah. Well especially in everyday speech. It’s like conditional too, sometimes you say, “If I was a millionaire, I would buy a mansion in California.” But actually, the most correct or the more correct way to say the same would be “If I were a millionaire,” because at that time of speaking you were not one. So, you are talking about a desire or a wish [crosstalk 00:08:19] Exactly, so a hypothetical situation. Say, “You’re just imagining.”
Andrew:
Okay. So, there you go. If you want to be syntactically, correct. You would use, “I wish, I were rich.” However, in everyday English we would hear, “I wish I was rich as well.” So, it’s up to the individual to use it how they want, the most important thing is that we are clear about the distinction between a wish plus infinitive and a wish plus simple past. Okay. So, the first one a wish plus infinitive is, ‘I would like.’ So you’re using in formal communication, normally written communication. I wish plus simple past is to express a desire in the present and into the future. But it’s a desire about a hypothetical situation because it hasn’t happened, it doesn’t exist, it’s just an Invented or imagined desired outcome or desired reality. Okay?
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Andrew Ambrosius