English Grammar Exercises for B1 B2 – Third conditional, I wish, If only

A. Underline the correct option.

1   I wish I had my own room. (I have / don’t have my own room.)

2   He wishes he had got up earlier. (The man got up late / early.)

3   I wish I was good at dancing. (I’m bad / good at dancing.)

4   If I’d taken the train, I would have got there on time. (I took / didn’t take the train. I got / didn’t get there on time.)

5   I wish my cousins didn’t live so far away. (My cousins live far away / near.)

6   I wish I could say sorry. (I can / can’t say sorry.)

7   There wouldn’t have been an accident if she had driven more carefully. (She drove / didn’t drive carefully. There was / wasn’t an accident.)

8   I wish I hadn’t given the company my phone number. (I gave / didn’t give the company my phone number.)

9   If they hadn’t helped me, the job would have taken a long time. (They helped / didn’t help me. The job took / didn’t take a long time.)

B. Complete the third conditional sentences with the correct form of the verbs in the box.

1   If I hadn’t been a teacher, I …’d have been / would have been…… a footballer.

2   If we’d known what was happening, we ………………………………… the police.

3   If you ………………………………… to the instructions, you’d have known what to do.

4   If the children ………………………………… more breakfast, they wouldn’t have been hungry.

5   You ………………………………… me if you’d waited a bit longer.

6   We’d have gone swimming if it ………………………………… sunny.

7   If we ………………………………… the match, I would have been so upset.

8   I ………………………………… to the party if I hadn’t been ill.

C. What are these people thinking? Complete the sentences, starting with I wish or If only.

2   …………………………… to buy those jeans.

4   …………………………… we …………………………… on holiday.

D. Complete each sentence b so that it has a similar meaning to sentence a.

1    a   It’s a pity we’re not in the same class.

      b   I wish ……we were in the same class…… .

2    a   We should have left earlier.

      b   If only ………………………………………… .

3    a   Unfortunately I didn’t hear the phone and didn’t speak to her.

      b   If ………………………………………… .

4    a   They’re sorry they can’t come tonight.

      b   They wish ………………………………………… .

5    a   It’s a shame that they didn’t have enough time and the room wasn’t finished.

      b   The room ………………………………………… .

6    a   I’d love to be sitting nearer the front.

      b   I wish ………………………………………… .

7    a   I can’t understand why she didn’t go to Australia with her friends and have a good time.

      b   If she ………………………………………… .

8    a   Oh dear. I’ve already sent that email.

      b   If only ………………………………………… .

E. Read the short biography of F Scott Fitzgerald and, in your notebook, write six regrets that you think he might have had for himself or his wife.

F Scott Fitzgerald was a writer in the 1920s. His novels are about the colourful lives of the young rich in the USA.

F Scott Fitzgerald started writing as a schoolboy. His first and most well-known novel, The Great Gatsby, was published in 1920. The novel was a big success. Fitzgerald and his new wife, Zelda Sayre, were immediately famous but they were soon in financial trouble.

Fitzgerald’s later novels did not make as much money as the first. He often had to stop work on his novels and write short stories for magazines in order to make money. He did not particularly enjoy writing the short stories. Fitzgerald’s marriage with his wife was very difficult. Many people consider that he did not write as much as he could because of this. Zelda became very ill later in life and spent long periods of time in hospital.

Fitzgerald died believing that he had been a failure. However, people consider him to be one of the best writers of the 20th century. It is a great pity that he did not see the success his novels later found.

Example: I wish I had written more.

F. Sometimes things can have unexpected results. Write third conditional sentences about the following situations.

1    I broke my leg in a football match. While I was in hospital I started writing a book. It’s just been published and is very successful.

      If I hadn’t broken my leg, I wouldn’t have become a successful writer.

2    My friend told me a good place to buy a new mobile phone, but I couldn’t find the shop. Instead I found a different shop and managed to get a really good phone for half the price!

      ………………………………………………………………………….

3    It was an icy night and I was driving home. The car got stuck. Luckily, a really nice man stopped and pushed the car for me. He’s now my husband!

      ………………………………………………………………………….

4    I didn’t want to go to college when I left school, so I travelled for a year instead. When I was a China, I was really interested in the history. When I came back I started studying History at college and I really love it.

      ………………………………………………………………………….

5    My boss told me to leave my job. On the way home I decided to start my own business. My business is doing really well.

      ………………………………………………………………………….

6    My parents didn’t have enough money to buy a house in the city. We moved to the country instead. Now I love it here and have lots of new friends.

      ………………………………………………………………………….

7    I didn’t pass my Maths exam. I took the exam again and studied really hard. I found out I really liked Maths and now I want to be a Maths teacher.

G. Write two things that you are glad happened as they did, and two that you are sorry happened as they did.

Example: I’m glad I came to live here. If I hadn’t come to live here, I wouldn’t have met all my great friends.

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

Write about some things you would like to have or to be able to do.

Example: I’m not good at singing. I wish I could sing.

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

H. Circle the correct option.

1   I wish I …………… meet people with the same interests.

      a could     b can     c –

2   I wish I …………… been born 100 years ago.

      a would     b had     c have

3   I would have loved Fitzgerald’s books if I …………… lived then.

      a had     b have     c would have

4   If he hadn’t loved his wife, he …………… have left.

      a had     b hadn’t     c ‘d

5   I wish I …………… working on a farm.

      a am not     b not     c wasn’t