Wish / If only – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A post-mortem meeting after a failed marketing campaign. The Marketing Manager is reflecting with the team on why the campaign missed its KPIs due to severe budget constraints, acknowledging strategic mistakes professionally.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Looking at these low conversion rates, I really wish we ______ a larger budget to this campaign from the start.”
(A) allocated
(B) have allocated
(C) had allocated
(D) had allocate
2 “The reach was terrible. If only I ______ to the data analytics team when they warned us about the changing algorithm.”
(A) had listened
(B) listened
(C) didn’t listen
(D) had listening
3 “We missed our main KPI by 30%. I wish we ______ the competitor’s aggressive pricing strategy.”
(A) didn’t ignore
(B) hadn’t ignored
(C) had ignored
(D) haven’t ignored
4 “Our launch coincided with a major news event. If only we ______ the campaign a week earlier.”
(A) started
(B) had started
(C) hadn’t started
(D) had starting
5 “I take full responsibility. I wish the executive board ______ our initial proposal for a higher ad spend.”
(A) had approved
(B) approved
(C) has approved
(D) had approve
6 “The budget ran dry after just ten days. I wish I ______ the sudden spike in cost-per-click.”
(A) foresaw
(B) had ignored
(C) had foreseen
(D) had foresaw
7 “We spent too much on print media. If only we ______ more heavily in targeted social media ads.”
(A) invested
(B) hadn’t invested
(C) had invest
(D) had invested
8 “The ROI from that celebrity endorsement was incredibly low. I wish we ______ so much of our limited budget on it.”
(A) didn’t spend
(B) hadn’t saved
(C) hadn’t spent
(D) hadn’t spend
9 “Our target audience shifted midway through the month. If only the agency ______ us about this trend sooner.”
(A) warned
(B) had warned
(C) had warning
(D) wouldn’t warn
10 “We tried to appeal to everyone and reached no one. I wish we ______ a more specific, niche demographic.”
(A) targeted
(B) had targeted
(C) hadn’t targeted
(D) have targeted
11 “The campaign gained traction just as the money ran out. If only we ______ the funds to extend the promotion.”
(A) possessed
(B) had possessed
(C) hadn’t possessed
(D) possess
12 “The visuals looked rushed because they were. I wish the creative team ______ more time to refine the assets.”
(A) was given
(B) had given
(C) had been given
(D) had been giving
13 “I calculated the projections poorly. If only I ______ the hidden costs of video production.”
(A) hadn’t underestimated
(B) didn’t underestimate
(C) had underestimated
(D) hadn’t underestimate
14 “The website crashed on day one. We wish we ______ the landing page’s server capacity before launching.”
(A) had tested
(B) tested
(C) hadn’t tested
(D) have tested
15 “It was a risky strategy. I wish we ______ a proper contingency plan for a low-budget scenario.”
(A) drew up
(B) hadn’t drawn up
(C) had drawn in
(D) had drawn up
16 “Our sales dropped in late October. If only I ______ in mind the seasonal fluctuations when setting the KPIs.”
(A) bore
(B) had borne
(C) had ignored
(D) had beared
17 “Relying on one influencer was a mistake. I wish we ______ all our eggs in one basket.”
(A) didn’t put
(B) had put
(C) hadn’t put
(D) hadn’t putted
18 “The concept was brilliant, but the execution was cheap. If only financial constraints ______ our creative vision.”
(A) didn’t hinder
(B) hadn’t hindered
(C) had hindered
(D) haven’t hindered
19 “We aimed too high with too little money. I wish we ______ our expectations to match the reality of our budget.”
(A) scaled back
(B) had expanded
(C) had scaled back
(D) had scale back
20 “We kept running failing ads hoping they would improve. If only we ______ on the underperforming assets much sooner.”
(A) pulled the plug
(B) had pulled the plug
(C) hadn’t pulled the plug
(D) had pull the plug
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wish + Past Perfect (had allocated) is used to express regret over a past strategic decision.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake (using Past Simple); (D) is a Structural Error (had + bare infinitive); (B) is a Meaning Trap/Structural Error (Present Perfect is never used after wish).
2 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expresses regret for not listening in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (had + V-ing); (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing you didn’t listen contradicts the context).
3 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Negative Past Perfect (hadn’t ignored) admits the mistake of ignoring the competitor in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing you had ignored them is illogical here); (D) is a Structural Error.
4 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Regret about the timing of a past event.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing you hadn’t started it earlier); (D) is a Structural Error.
5 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing a past board decision had been different.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Structural Error.
6 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): “had foreseen” correctly uses the past perfect of the irregular verb “foresee”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (incorrect past participle); (B) is a Meaning Trap (“had ignored” contradicts the manager’s regret).
7 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): A wish that money had been spent differently.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap.
8 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Negative Past Perfect expresses regret over past overspending.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (hadn’t spend); (B) is a Meaning Trap (“saved” changes the logic entirely).
9 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing an action (warning) had happened in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap (wouldn’t warn = complaining about a present habit).
10 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Admits the mistake of poor targeting in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing you hadn’t targeted them); (D) is a Structural Error.
11 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Regret over lacking funds in the past.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap; (D) is a Structural Error.
12 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Passive Past Perfect (had been given). The team received the time, they didn’t give it.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple Passive); (B) is a Meaning Trap/Structural Error (Active voice implies the team gave time, not received it); (D) is a Structural Error.
13 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): The manager regrets the action of underestimating, so the negative form is needed.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing you had underestimated is illogical); (D) is a Structural Error.
14 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Regret over failing to test the servers.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap; (D) is a Structural Error.
15 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Collocation “draw up a plan” in the Past Perfect.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Meaning Trap; (C) is a Structural Error/Collocation Error (“draw in” has a different meaning).
16 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Collocation “bear in mind” (past participle: borne).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (incorrect irregular verb form); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
17 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Idiom “put all your eggs in one basket.” Negative Past Perfect shows regret for taking that risk.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Meaning Trap; (D) is a Structural Error (“putted” is incorrect, the V3 of put is put).
18 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing the budget hadn’t stopped the creativity.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap; (D) is a Structural Error.
19 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Phrasal verb “scale back” (reduce) in Past Perfect.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Meaning Trap (“expanded” contradicts the low budget); (D) is a Structural Error.
20 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Idiom “pull the plug on” (stop something that is failing) in Past Perfect.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Meaning Trap; (D) is a Structural Error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Professional Application: In a corporate environment, using Wish / If only + Past Perfect is a highly diplomatic way to conduct a post-mortem analysis. Instead of pointing fingers (“You didn’t do this”), it focuses on strategic reflection (“I wish we had done this”), framing failures as learning opportunities rather than personal blame.
- Grammar Structure: Always use Had + Past Participle (V3/ed) to reflect on events that are permanently concluded in the past.
- Passive Voice in Regrets: Be careful with contexts where the subject receives the action (e.g., I wish the team had been given more time). A common trap at the B2 level is forgetting the “been” in the Past Perfect Passive structure.
- Collocations & Idioms: Advanced business English relies heavily on idioms. Distractors in B2/C1 tests often feature correctly conjugated verbs that form the wrong idiom (e.g., draw in instead of draw up, or missing the irregular V3 form like borne).