wishes her parents /not ground/ her for a month.
3 Luna’s parents wish their distant relatives /not come/ with a visit next weekend.
4 Luna’s parents wish they /can/ spend weekends without any guests.
5 Luna wishes she /choose/ a new collar herself yesterday.
6 Luna wishes her parents /not punish/ them for coming home so late.
7 Kudjo and Luna wish they /find/ out the secret of the new box.
8 Kudjo and Luna wish the bats /explain/ to them what to do with this box.
9 Kudjo wishes Chilly and he /can/ go to the boarding house again.
10 Kudjo wishes Luna /not join/ them in their trip to the boarding house.
We often use
Subject + wish + somebody + would or
if only + somebody + would
to complain, to talk about things we want to happen or stop happening, because they are annoying us.
Luna wishes her parents wouldn’t be so strict.
You can’t use this structure for a wish about yourself, i.e. NOT
EXERCISE 4
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form and guess who is saying it: Kudjo (K), Luna (L), Luna’s parents (P) or Chilly (C):
1 Oh no! You have turned over my bowl with food. I wish you /not be/ so clumsy! (K)
2 You are always asking us a lot of stupid questions! We wish you /not be/ such a chatter-box! (P)
3 You are so bossy! If only you /stop/ telling me what to do every time! (L)
4 They have had so many adventures without me. I wish I /be/ with them. (C)
5 Her paws are filthy again! We wish she /mind/ her step and /not get/ in every puddle! (P)
6 My parents don’t allow me to do a lot of things! I wish they /not be/ so strict! (L)
7 If only it /stop/ raining! I am fed with staying at home. (L) or (K)
8 If only I /come/ sooner. I’m looking forward to seeing Kudjo and Luna. (C)
9 I was so scared in the forest last night. I wished I /stay/ at home with my parents. (L)
10 I wish my dad /give/ me some pocket money! (L)
EXERCISE 5
Put the verb in brackets in the correct form and answer the questions with I wish and If only:
1 What foreign language do you wish you /can/ speak?
2 What is something very expensive that you wish you /have/?
3 What do you wish you /not do/ lately?
4 What activity do you wish you /have/ more time for?
5 What do you wish you /receive/ for your last birthday?
6 What bad habit do you wish you /can/ stop?
7 Who do you wish you /see/ next weekend?
8 Where do you wish you /live/?
9 What do you wish you /look/ like?
10 What do you wish you /can/ do perfectly without learning it?
EXERCISE 6
Write sentences with I wish or If only for the following situations:
For example,
Luna scratched the floor with the saw when she was carrying it to the box room. — If only I had been more careful with that saw!
1 Luna’s dad ran out of petrol on the way home and they had to push the car to the nearest petrol station.
2 It’s pouring with rain and Kudjo can’t stand puddles and mud.
3 Kudjo has had a fight with a bulldog and now his jaw is bleeding a bit.
4 Kudjo is eating his dry food and dreaming about some rare steaks.
5 Kudjo has run out of jigsaw puzzles and is looking forward to getting a new one.
6 Kudjo hates it when people won’t clean up after their dogs.
7 Luna had a stupid fight with a poodle about the colour of her hair.
8 Kudjo lost his torch in the forest last night. It was his favourite one.
9 Luna stayed up late last night and now she is very sleepy and moody.
10 Luna’s parents have decided to spend all the summer in the country but Luna loves city life more.
EXERCISE 7
Put the verb in brackets in the correct form and guess the last word of the sentence:
1 Kudjo and Luna wished they /can/ understand what was so special about this *****.
2 They smelt it, licked it, turned it, opened it and closed it again. No clue. If only the bats /tell/ them what to do with *****.
3 One day Kudjo /do/ his jigsaw puzzle when suddenly it /dawn/ on him. The little box that they found in the attic might fit the hollow in the box that they found in the *****.
4 If he /do/ puzzles, he never /come/ with the idea of fitting two *****.
5 He
