Wish / If only – English Grammar Exercises for B2
Complaining about a cumbersome administrative process. An employee is expressing frustration to a manager (or in an internal email) regarding the company’s excessively slow paperwork and approval systems, advocating for operational changes.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “I wish the HR department ______ the approval process for annual leave. It currently takes over a week.”
(A) simplifies
(B) wouldn’t simplify
(C) would simplify
(D) would to simplify
2 “If only the finance team ______ rejecting my travel receipts over tiny format errors. It is incredibly frustrating.”
(A) won’t keep
(B) wouldn’t keep
(C) wouldn’t kept
(D) would keep
3 “This paperwork is endless. I wish the administration ______ everything so we don’t have to print so many physical copies.”
(A) would digitize
(B) digitizes
(C) would complicate
(D) would digitizing
4 “If only the legal department ______ us waiting for weeks just to get a standard non-disclosure agreement signed.”
(A) doesn’t leave
(B) had left
(C) wouldn’t leave
(D) wouldn’t leaving
5 “I wish the board of directors ______ the new automated signature software already. It would save us hours.”
(A) approve
(B) would approved
(C) wouldn’t approve
(D) would approve
6 “It takes three managers to approve a $50 expense. If only they ______ team leaders more authority.”
(A) would delegate
(B) delegate
(C) wouldn’t delegate
(D) would to delegate
7 “I wish the IT department ______ server access requests faster instead of sitting on them for days.”
(A) will grant
(B) would grant
(C) would granted
(D) would deny
8 “If only the procurement office ______ every single minor purchase order we submit.”
(A) won’t micromanage
(B) would micromanage
(C) wouldn’t micromanaged
(D) wouldn’t micromanage
9 “I wish the legacy software system ______ crashing every time I try to upload a client invoice.”
(A) stops
(B) will stop
(C) would stop
(D) would continue
10 “We waste hours on these mandatory daily logs. If only upper management ______ the reporting requirements.”
(A) would complicate
(B) would streamline
(C) will streamline
(D) would streamlines
11 “I wish the internal audit team ______ rejecting valid expense claims due to tiny, irrelevant technicalities.”
(A) doesn’t persist in
(B) wouldn’t persisted in
(C) would persist in
(D) wouldn’t persist in
12 “If only the regional director ______ the budget allocations before the end of the quarter, we could actually start working.”
(A) would finalize
(B) will finalize
(C) would finalizing
(D) wouldn’t finalize
13 “The bottlenecks in our workflow are obvious. I wish the operations manager ______ them instead of ignoring them.”
(A) addresses
(B) would addresses
(C) would address
(D) wouldn’t address
14 “If only the headquarters ______ imposing these redundant compliance checks on the regional branches.”
(A) wouldn’t cease
(B) would cease
(C) cease
(D) would to cease
15 “I wish the stakeholders ______ a consensus faster so we could actually move forward with the project.”
(A) would reach
(B) will reach
(C) wouldn’t reach
(D) would reached
16 “Every single form requires five physical signatures. If only the bureaucracy ______ stifling our team’s productivity.”
(A) won’t stop
(B) would stopped
(C) would stop
(D) wouldn’t stop
17 “I wish the HR platform ______ logging me out right in the middle of a performance review form.”
(A) wouldn’t kept
(B) doesn’t keep
(C) would keep
(D) wouldn’t keep
18 “If only the executives ______ more attention to the feedback we gave them about this terribly slow system.”
(A) pay
(B) would pay
(C) would paid
(D) wouldn’t pay
19 “I wish the finance department ______ their reimbursement policy; waiting 60 days to get my own money back is absurd.”
(A) wouldn’t revise
(B) will revise
(C) would revise
(D) would to revise
20 “If only the cross-functional teams ______ more efficiently instead of sending endless emails back and forth.”
(A) would collaborate
(B) will collaborate
(C) would collaborated
(D) wouldn’t collaborate
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wish + would + bare infinitive is used to complain about a situation you want to change.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake (using Present Simple); (D) is a Structural Error (adding “to” after would); (B) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they wouldn’t simplify it contradicts the complaint).
2 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expresses a strong desire for the finance team to stop their annoying habit of rejecting receipts.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake (using will/won’t instead of would/wouldn’t); (C) is a Structural Error (wouldn’t + past tense verb); (D) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they would keep rejecting them).
3 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expresses a wish for the administration to take action (digitizing).
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error (would + V-ing); (C) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they would “complicate” things is illogical).
4 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Negating an annoying action (“wouldn’t leave us waiting”).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap (Past Perfect refers to a past regret, not a demand for a current system change).
5 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): A plea for the board to act now.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Structural Error (would + past tense); (C) is a Meaning Trap.
6 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expresses a desire for higher-ups to delegate authority.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap.
7 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): A complaint aiming for a faster IT response.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake (will); (C) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap (wishing they would “deny” requests).
8 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Expresses frustration over being micromanaged.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (B) is a Meaning Trap.
9 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Complaining about a machine/system’s repeated annoying behavior.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Common Mistake / Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap.
10 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing for the process to be streamlined (made easier).
- Distractor Analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (A) is a Meaning Trap.
11 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing the team would stop persisting in a bad habit.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap.
12 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Waiting for someone to finalize a task so work can begin.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap.
13 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing a manager would take action to address an issue.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap.
14 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): “Would cease” means to stop doing something annoying.
- Distractor Analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (A) is a Meaning Trap (“wouldn’t cease” = wouldn’t stop).
15 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing for stakeholders to reach an agreement faster.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap.
16 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Desiring an end to the stifling bureaucracy.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (B) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap.
17 (D)
- Why it is correct (Key): Complaining about the annoying automated habit of a software platform.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (A) is a Structural Error; (C) is a Meaning Trap.
18 (B)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing executives would pay attention.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap.
19 (C)
- Why it is correct (Key): Demanding a revision of a bad policy.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (D) is a Structural Error; (A) is a Meaning Trap.
20 (A)
- Why it is correct (Key): Wishing for better collaboration between departments.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; (C) is a Structural Error; (D) is a Meaning Trap.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Complaining about Systems & Bureaucracy: The structure Wish / If only + subject + would/wouldn’t + verb is the standard English formulation for complaining about other people’s—or even machines’/organizations’—annoying behaviors, refusals to act, or cumbersome procedures.
- The “Will” Mistake: A very common error for B2 learners is using “will” or “won’t” after wish/if only (e.g., I wish they will change the policy). Remember that after “wish”, we always shift back to “would”.
- Present Simple vs. Would: While using the Past Simple (e.g., I wish they changed the policy) is grammatically acceptable for expressing an unreal present state, using would emphasizes irritation and a strong demand for future action/change. It implies that the subject has the power to change the situation but is choosing not to.
- Meaning Traps in Tests: Pay close attention to the verbs in the options. Sometimes an option is grammatically perfect but uses a word that means the exact opposite of what the context requires (e.g., wishing the system would complicate things instead of would streamline them). Always read the full context of the sentence.