Use of I wish / if only:
There are three distinct types of I wish / if only sentences:
- Wish, wanting change for the present or future with the simple past.
- Regret with the past perfect.
- Complaints with would + verb.
Expressing a wish:
Form:
| If only / I wish + simple past |
Example:
If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it)
Use:
- To express a wish in the present or in the future.
- The simple past here is an unreal past.
- When you use the verb to be the form is “were”.
Example:
I wish I were a millionaire!
Expressing regret:
Form:
| If only / I wish + past perfect |
Example:
If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.)
Use:
- To express a regret.
- The action is past.
Complaining:
Form:
| I wish / if only + would + verb |
Example:
I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time)
Use:
- To complain about a behavior that you disapprove.
- Expressing impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action.
Passive Voice
The passive vs the active voice:
| The Active Voice | The Passive Voice |
| Most countries in Latin America speak Spanish. | Spanish is spoken in most countries in latin America. |
Use of the passive voice:
- Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: "A letter was written."
The focus, here, is on the fact that a letter was written. We don't know, however, who wrote it. - Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A vase was broken.
Focus, here, is on the fact that a vase was broken, but we don't blame anyone. Compare this to: "You broke the vase."
Form of the passive voice:
| Subject + the appropriate form of to be + Past Participle |
NOTE: The appropriate form of to be = To be is put in the the tense of the active voice main verb.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
- The form of the verb is the appropriate form of to be (the tense of the active voice main verb) + the past participle.
- The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped.)
Example:
| Active | Nancy | makes | tea |
| subject | verb | object | |
| Passive | Tea | is made | (by Nancy) |
| object becoming subject | verb | subject becoming object or is dropped |
Examples of the passive voice:
| Tense | Subject | Verb | Object | |
| Simple Present | Active: | Nancy | makes | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | is made | by Nancy. | |
| Present Progressive | Active: | Nancy | is making | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | is being made | by Nancy. | |
| Simple Past | Active: | Nancy | made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | was made | by Nancy. | |
| Past Progressive | Active: | Nancy | was making | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | was being made | by Nancy. | |
| Present Perfect | Active: | Nancy | has made | Tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | has been made | by Nancy. | |
| Past Perfect | Active: | Nancy | had made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | had been made | by Nancy. | |
| Future simple | Active: | Nancy | will make | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | will be made | by Nancy. | |
| Future perfect | Active: | Nancy | will have made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | will have been made | by Nancy. | |
| Conditional | Active: | Nancy | would make | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | would be made | by Nancy. | |
| Modals | Active: | Nancy | can make | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | can be made | by Nancy. |
Passive voice sentences with two Objects:
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
| Active/Passive | Subject | Verb | Object 1 | Object 2 |
| Active: | Nancy | offered | a flower | to me. |
| Passive: | A flower | was offered | to me | by Nancy. |
| Passive: | I | was offered | a flower | by Nancy. |
Impersonal Passive:
Study these examples:
- They say that the planet is in danger.
- It is said that the planet is in danger.
This type of passive is called impersonal because we use the impersonal form "it is..." This is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know...)
Examples:
- It is said that...
- It is thought that...
- It is believed that...
- It is known that...
It is also common that we start the passive form of these sentences with the subject of the that-clause:
Examples:
- They say that the planet is in danger.= The planet is said to be in danger.
- They think that women live longer than men. = Women are thought to live longer.
