❖ Unit 9 ❖ Science and Technology ❖ Grammar ❖

Conditionals & Wish

The conditional sentences express what would happen if certain conditions were met. The "I wish" structure expresses regret about reality.

The three conditionals

Type	If-clause	Main clause	Meaning
Type 1 (real)	If + simple present	will / can + V	Possible future
Type 2 (unreal present)	If + simple past	would / could + V	Imaginary present
Type 3 (unreal past)	If + past perfect	would have + V3	Regret about the past

Examples of each type

Type 1: If it rains tomorrow, we will stay home.

Type 2: If I had enough money, I would buy a new car. (I don't have enough money — imaginary)

Type 3: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam. (I didn't study, I failed — regret)

"I wish" — Expressing regret

① Wish about the PRESENT

Use I wish + simple past for an unreal present situation.

I don't have a car. → I wish I had a car.

She can't speak English. → She wishes she could speak English.

② Wish about the PAST

Use I wish + past perfect for regret about something that did/didn't happen.

I didn't study hard. → I wish I had studied hard.

He failed the exam. → He wishes he hadn't failed the exam.

③ Wish about the FUTURE

Use I wish + would + V to complain about someone's behaviour.

I wish you would stop interrupting me!

I wish it would stop raining.

Three-way conversion

One real situation can be rewritten as: a conditional + a wish.

Reality → Type 2 conditional → Present wish

Reality: I want to buy a new car, but I don't have enough money.

Conditional: If I had enough money, I would buy a new car.

Wish: I wish I had enough money.

Past reality → Type 3 conditional → Past wish

Reality: I wasn't free yesterday, so I didn't see my friend.

Conditional: If I had been free yesterday, I would have seen my friend.

Wish: I wish I had been free yesterday.

Practice 1 — Present situations (Type 2)

Put the verb in the correct form

If I (be) were free, I would go on a picnic.
I would go on a picnic if I (be) were free.
I wish I (be) were free.
If Rayan worked hard, he (get) would get a good mark.
Rayan (get) would get a good mark if he worked hard.
Rayan wishes he (work) worked hard.
If Jack (live) lived in Marrakech, he wouldn't have any allergy.
If the exam were too difficult, nobody (pass) would pass.
Fernando would come to the party if they (invite) invited him.
Your parents (worry) would worry about you if you didn't show up.
If Tom stopped at the red light, he (not make) wouldn't make an accident.
If Linda (not attend) didn't attend the meeting, her boss would be angry.

Practice 2 — Three transformations (Present)

Rewrite each situation in 3 ways

Mark doesn't pay attention in class, so he doesn't understand the lesson.
→ If Mark paid attention in class, he would understand the lesson.
→ Mark would understand the lesson if he paid attention in class.
→ Mark wishes he paid attention in class.
Raja wants to visit her friend, but she doesn't know the address.
→ If Raja knew the address, she would visit her friend.
→ Raja would visit her friend if she knew the address.
→ Raja wishes she knew her friend's address.

Practice 3 — Past situations (Type 3)

Put the verb in the correct form

If Messi (play) had played yesterday, Barcelona would have won.
Barcelona would have won if Messi (play) had played yesterday.
Barcelona fans wish Messi (play) had played yesterday.
If Rayan had worked hard last Monday, he (get) would have got a good mark.
Rayan (get) would have got a good mark if he had worked hard.
Rayan wishes he (work) had worked hard last Monday.
If you hadn't invited me, I (not give) wouldn't have given you a gift.
If Bob (drive) had driven slowly, he wouldn't have had an accident.
Catherine could have gone to the cinema if she (not be) hadn't been sick.
Real Madrid (not win) wouldn't have won the match if Ronaldo hadn't played.

Practice 4 — Three transformations (Past)

Rewrite each past situation in 3 ways

Mark didn't pay attention in class yesterday, so he didn't understand the lesson.
→ If Mark had paid attention in class, he would have understood the lesson.
→ Mark would have understood the lesson if he had paid attention.
→ Mark wishes he had paid attention in class.
Raja couldn't go out with her friends last night because she wasn't free.
→ If Raja had been free, she would have gone out with her friends.
→ Raja would have gone out if she had been free.
Hassna ate too much last night and had a stomachache.
→ Hassna wishes she hadn't eaten too much last night.

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Match the tense to the time

Present unreal → Type 2 (past tense). Past unreal → Type 3 (past perfect).

② "Were" for all persons in Type 2

If I were you… · If he were rich… (not "was" in formal English).

③ Wish + past = present wish

The tense moves one step back: present situation → past tense after wish.

❖ Exam tip

Conditionals and wish appear in almost every exam. Practice: take a real fact, transform it into Type 2/3 + wish. Always check: present or past time?