I wish and If only ESL Games and Worksheets
In this useful I wish and If only worksheet, students learn and practice how to use I wish and If only to talk about things they would like to be different in the present or past. Students start by reading two personal introductions. Students then indicate who said each statement about a wish or regret based on the information given in the introductions. Next, students decide if each wish or regret is about the past or the present. After that, students read the grammar rules associated with I wish and If only and use verbs in brackets to complete example sentences. Next, students read wishes and regrets and choose the correct form of the verb to complete each sentence. Students then move on to express wishes or regrets for a set of statements using I wish or If only. In the last exercise, students take turns asking conversation questions about wishes and regrets to a partner and respond to their partner's questions with I wish or If only.
This free I wish and If only worksheet can be used to introduce students to I wish and If only and how it is used to express present desires and past regrets. Students begin by reading how to use I wish and If only to talk about a present situation that you would like to be different. Students then complete statements with verbs from a box in their past simple form. Next, students change each sentence into a wish about the present using I wish and If only. Students then move on to read how I wish and If only can be used to express regrets for past situations. After that, students complete regrets with the past perfect form of verbs in brackets. Students then write about four things from their past that they regret with I wish and If only. Finally, students read ten statements and decide if each one is about the present or past by underlining the answer in brackets.
In this engaging I wish and If only game, students match problems with wishes or regrets and make sentences about them using I wish or If only. In pairs, students take turns turning over one problem card and one wish/regret card. If the prompt on the wish/regret card matches the problem, the student reads it out as a sentence beginning with I wish or If only. If the other student agrees the sentence is correct and matches the problem, the student wins, keeps the two cards and has another turn. If not, the student turns the cards back over, keeping them in the same place. It's then the other student's turn to play. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins.
In this handy expressing regrets game, students use I wish and If only and the past perfect to express regrets about health problems. Read a health problem to the class (e.g. I've got a toothache.) and set a time limit of two minutes. The teams then write down as many regrets as they can for the ailment using I wish and If only + the past perfect. For example, 'I wish I hadn’t eaten so many sweets.' 'If only I had gone to the dentist more often,' etc. When the time limit has been reached, the teams stop writing and swap their paper with another team for marking. Teams score one point for each appropriate and grammatically correct regret. Write the scores on the board and then read the next health problem. The team with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
In this productive wishes and regrets worksheet, students learn and practice using I wish and If only with the past simple and past perfect to express wishes and regrets. Students begin by completing sentences about wishes and regrets with verbs from a box. Next, students put the sentences into the correct category by deciding if each sentence expresses a wish or regret. Students then complete the grammar rules for I wish and If only by ticking the correct tense. After that, students rewrite sentences using wish and If only, indicating which sentence expresses a wish or regret by circling the appropriate word. Lastly, students write their wishes and regrets and then tell them to each other in pairs or small groups.
In this fun I wish and If only game, students perform short role-plays with I wish and If only to express annoyance. In pairs, students take turns picking up a situation card, telling their partner the location, their role, and doing the action on the card, e.g. 'We are in the library. You are a student studying. (sing a song).' Their partner listens to the situation, takes on the role of the character and expresses annoyance at the reader's action using I wish or If only, e.g. 'I wish you wouldn't sing.' If the student makes a suitable I wish or If only sentence expressing annoyance, they win and keep the card. The student with the most cards wins the game.
Here is an enjoyable I wish and If only game to help students practice expressing regrets. In two groups, students start by completing I wish and If only sentences about places they visited on a terrible day out using verbs in their correct forms. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns asking their partner for regrets about each place they went to, e.g. 'What are your regrets about the first place you visited?' After hearing the regrets, the other student guesses the place their partner visited and writes it down, without saying anything. When the pairs have finished, elicit the correct answers from the class. The pair with the most correct answers wins the game.
In this creative I wish and If only game, students write past regrets for situations and read them to a partner who tries to guess each situation. First, in two groups, students read each situation, e.g. 'You have failed your final exam.' Students then complete I wish and If only statements with corresponding past regrets, e.g. 'I wish I had studied more. If only I had paid more attention in class. I wish the test had been easier.' Students are not allowed to use any words or any variations of the words from the situation in their statements. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns reading each set of regrets to their partner, who has three chances to guess the situation. For each correct guess, students put a tick. The student with the most correct guesses at the end of the game wins.
