Wish / If only – English Grammar Exercises for B2
Writing a scathing “1-star” review on a travel platform (like TripAdvisor). A disgruntled traveler is recounting a terrible experience involving a dirty room, rude staff, and deceptive marketing.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “I am writing this review from a filthy, overpriced room. I sincerely wish we ______ this hotel.”
(A) hadn’t booked
(B) didn’t book
(C) haven’t booked
(D) had booked
2 “The recent reviews on this site were awful. If only I ______ them before paying the non-refundable deposit.”
(A) read
(B) would read
(C) had reading
(D) had read
3 “The walls here are paper-thin and the street noise is unbearable. I wish I ______ about the noise level before arriving.”
(A) knew
(B) hadn’t known
(C) had known
(D) have known
4 “Our anniversary vacation is completely ruined. If only we ______ the resort across the street instead.”
(A) chose
(B) had chosen
(C) didn’t choose
(D) had chose
5 “This place is a total scam. I wish I ______ my hard-earned money on this absolute dump.”
(A) hadn’t spent
(B) spent
(C) didn’t spend
(D) wouldn’t spend
6 “The pictures online were heavily edited to look luxurious. I wish we ______ tricked by their deceptive marketing.”
(A) weren’t
(B) didn’t be
(C) had been
(D) hadn’t been
7 “The receptionist was incredibly hostile. If only she ______ at us when we politely asked for clean towels.”
(A) wouldn’t yell
(B) hadn’t yelled
(C) yelled
(D) didn’t yell
8 “There were literal bugs in the bed. I wish the housekeeping staff ______ the sheets before we checked in.”
(A) changed
(B) hadn’t changed
(C) had changed
(D) had changing
9 “My colleague told me to avoid this specific neighborhood. If only I ______ her advice seriously.”
(A) took
(B) didn’t take
(C) had ignored
(D) had taken
10 “We were placed in a tiny room right next to the noisy elevator. I wish we ______ a room at the quiet end of the hall.”
(A) had been given
(B) had given
(C) gave
(D) were given
11 “The manager completely refused to offer a refund or an apology. If only he ______ a tiny bit of professionalism.”
(A) showed
(B) had shown
(C) hadn’t shown
(D) had showed
12 “We paid for a whole week in advance because of a ‘discount’. I wish we ______ for just one night to test the waters first.”
(A) booked
(B) hadn’t booked
(C) had booked
(D) would book
13 “We stayed the first night only because it was raining heavily. If only we ______ our bags and left immediately.”
(A) packed
(B) had packed
(C) hadn’t packed
(D) had packing
14 “I usually do thorough research before traveling. I wish I ______ the time to investigate this specific property more carefully.”
(A) didn’t rush
(B) took
(C) hadn’t taken
(D) had taken
15 “We trusted the fake 5-star ratings blindly. I wish we ______ everything at face value.”
(A) didn’t take
(B) had taken
(C) hadn’t taken
(D) hadn’t taking
16 “The air conditioning was broken all night. If only the hotel ______ a blind eye to their severe maintenance issues.”
(A) had turned
(B) didn’t turn
(C) hadn’t fixed
(D) hadn’t turned
17 “They promised us a sea view but gave us a view of a brick wall. I wish they ______ us along with false promises.”
(A) didn’t string
(B) hadn’t strung
(C) had strung
(D) hadn’t stringed
18 “We ignored the red flags during the booking process. If only we ______ the warning signs when the website looked sketchy.”
(A) heeded
(B) had heeded
(C) hadn’t heeded
(D) had missed
19 “I am so angry at my own passivity. I wish I ______ the courage to demand a full refund on the spot yesterday.”
(A) could find
(B) can find
(C) could have found
(D) found
20 “This whole trip was a disaster from start to finish. If only we ______ clear of this establishment entirely!”
(A) steered
(B) hadn’t steered
(C) had steering
(D) had steered
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wish + Past Perfect (hadn’t booked) is used to express deep regret over a completed action in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake (using Past Simple); (C) is a Structural Error (Present Perfect is never used after wish); (D) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they had booked it contradicts the 1-star review context).
2 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): The speaker regrets not reading the reviews in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error (had + V-ing); (B) is a Meaning Trap (would read is used for present complaints, not past regrets).
3 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing for knowledge they lacked in the past (had known).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they hadn’t known makes no sense here).
4 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expresses regret over not choosing the alternative resort.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (“chose” is V2, not the past participle V3 “chosen”); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
5 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): The negative Past Perfect shows regret over wasting money.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they did spend it).
6 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Passive Past Perfect (hadn’t been tricked) expressing regret over being deceived in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they had been tricked).
7 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Regret over the receptionist’s past rude action.
- Distractor Analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; (A) is a Structural Error / Meaning Trap (wouldn’t yell applies to a present habit, but the incident already happened); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
8 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing an action (changing sheets) had occurred before their arrival.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap.
9 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Collocation “take advice seriously.” Past Perfect confirms the regret of not doing so.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Meaning Trap (didn’t take); (C) is a Meaning Trap (“ignored” has the opposite logical meaning to the desired action).
10 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Passive Past Perfect. The guests receive the room, they don’t give it.
- Distractor Analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple Active); (D) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple Passive); (B) is a Structural Error / Meaning Trap (Active voice implies the guests gave the room to someone else).
11 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expressing a wish that the manager had behaved differently.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (incorrect V3 form); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
12 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing they had only booked one night instead of a week.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap.
13 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing they had taken the action to leave in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they hadn’t packed means wishing they stayed).
14 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Collocation “take the time to do something”.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (A) is a Structural Error (didn’t rush is past simple); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
15 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Idiom “take at face value” (accept something just as it appears without questioning). Regret is shown via the negative Past Perfect.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap.
16 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Idiom “turn a blind eye to” (ignore). The reviewer wishes the hotel had not ignored the maintenance issues.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (A) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they had ignored them); (C) is a Structural Error (doesn’t fit the idiom).
17 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Idiom “string someone along” (deceive someone over a period of time).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (“stringed” is invalid; V3 is strung); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
18 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Collocation “heed a warning” (pay attention to).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap; (D) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they had missed the signs makes no sense).
19 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Could have + V3 is used after “wish” to express regret about a past inability or missed opportunity.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake (expresses a present wish, but the incident was “yesterday”); (D) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Structural Error (“can” is never used after wish).
20 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Idiom “steer clear of” (avoid completely).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they hadn’t avoided it).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Consumer Regrets: Wish / If only + Past Perfect is the ultimate grammatical tool for writing a negative review. It acknowledges that a transaction or event is permanently finished in the past, and bộc lộ (expresses) deep dissatisfaction that things didn’t go differently.
- The Common Trap (Past Simple vs. Past Perfect): A frequent B2 error is writing “I wish I didn’t book this.” Remember: Past Simple after “wish” is for present situations. Because the booking happened in the past, you must backshift to hadn’t booked.
- Passive Voice in Regrets: When complaining about how you were treated by a business (e.g., being given a bad room, being tricked), ensure you use the Passive Past Perfect: had / hadn’t + been + V3 (e.g., I wish we hadn’t been tricked).
- Past Ability (Could have): If you regret not having the ability, courage, or opportunity to do something during the bad experience, use could have + V3 (e.g., I wish I could have found the manager).
- Idioms of Deception and Avoidance: Advanced tests will challenge you with collocations often found in reviews. Learn idioms like steer clear of (avoid), take at face value (believe without checking), and string someone along (deceive with false promises) to master the B2/C1 vocabulary range.