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Lesson planB255 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
If Only I Lived Closer! wish and if only
Students practise wish and if only to talk about regrets and wishes about city living, then write a housing forum post.
Wish if only · Housing · City life
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use wish / if only accurately
- Learn and use 13 words and phrases in 2 sets: Renting a home, City life and wishes
- Read for detail: Noor's new flat
- Writing task: where you live
Stages · 55 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about housing and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 5 minControlled practice: Ex. 2
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 3
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 4
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 5
- 10 minReading: Ex. 6
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 7
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
wish / if only + past simple: the present
- Use wish or if only + past simple for a present situation you'd like to be different: I wish I lived nearer the centre. (I don't.) If only our flat had a balcony! (It doesn't.)
- With be, you can use were for every person: I wish it were bigger. Was is also common in speech: I wish it was bigger.
- Use could for abilities: I wish I could afford a bigger place.
wish / if only + past perfect: regrets about the past
- Use the past perfect for something you regret: I wish I had asked about the heating. If only we hadn't moved so far away!
wish + would: other people's annoying habits
- Use wish + would to complain about what other people do or don't do: I wish my neighbours would turn their music down.
- Don't use wish + would about yourself: I wish I lived closer (not I wish I would live closer).
Watch out
- If only is stronger than wish and often ends with an exclamation mark.
- For a possible future, use hope, not wish: I hope the rent doesn't go up (not I wish the rent doesn't go up).
Study tips
- Think of three things about your home you'd change. Say them with I wish… or If only…
- Notice which wishes are about now (past simple) and which are about the past (past perfect).
Glossary
- Renting a home7 items
- City life and wishes6 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
City living
Match each word with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
Wishes and regrets
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- a
Our flat is tiny. I wish it (be) more spacious.
- b
My commute takes ninety minutes. If only I (live) nearer the office!
- c
We found a cheaper flat a week later. I wish we (not sign) the contract so quickly.
- d
The people upstairs play loud music every night. I wish they (turn) it down.
- e
I'd love to live in the centre. I wish I (can) afford it.
- f
If only I (listen) to my sister when she told me to stay in the suburbs!
- g
My landlord never answers my emails. I wish he (reply) for once.
- h
The rent has gone up again. If only it (be) more affordable!
3
Key word transformations
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the word in capitals and between two and five words, including the word given.
- a
I'm sorry I didn't look at the flat before I moved in.
WISH
I at the flat before I moved in.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- b
It's a pity our street is so noisy.
ONLY
If so noisy!
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- c
My flatmate keeps leaving dirty dishes in the sink, and it annoys me.
WOULD
I wish my flatmate dirty dishes in the sink.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- d
I regret moving so far from my friends.
HAD
I wish I so far from my friends.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- e
Unfortunately, I don't have enough money for a bigger flat.
AFFORD
I wish I a bigger flat.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- f
We should have asked the landlord about the heating.
ONLY
If the landlord about the heating!
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
4
Word formation
Use the word in capitals to form a word that fits the gap.
- a
Our new flat is much more than the old one: there's room for a sofa and a desk.
SPACE - b
Most in our building take the train into the city every morning.
COMMUTE - c
Flats in the centre aren't for most young people.
AFFORD - d
The trains are so at rush hour that you can hardly move.
CROWD - e
I wish our street were less : the traffic keeps me awake.
NOISE - f
Moving to a new city on your own can lead to .
LONELY
5
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correction.
- a
I wish I have a bigger kitchen.
- b
If only I didn't sign that contract last year!
- c
I wish I would live closer to my work.
- d
I wish it doesn't rain tomorrow: we're moving house.
- e
If only we can find an affordable flat in the centre!
- f
I wish my neighbours will be quieter at night.
6
Read: Noor's new flat
Read the blog post. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
Eighteen months ago I swapped a spacious house in the suburbs for a one-bedroom flat in the city centre. Everyone said it was a terrible idea. My commute used to take an hour and a half each way; now I walk to the office in twelve minutes, and I don't miss the overcrowded morning trains at all. The flat itself is another story. It's on the fourth floor of an old building with no lift, and my landlord, Mr Varga, takes weeks to fix anything. Last winter the heating broke twice. I wish I had asked more questions before I signed the contract, but the rent seemed affordable and I was desperate to move. Do I have regrets? A few. I wish I had a garden, and sometimes I wish the bars below my window would close a little earlier. If only I could pick up the whole flat and put it down in a quieter street! But I have more free time than ever, and I've made more friends in this neighbourhood in a year than I did in five years in the suburbs. For now, I'm staying.
- a
Noor's journey to work is shorter now than it used to be.
- b
Noor takes the train to work now.
- c
There is a lift in Noor's building.
- d
Mr Varga has put the rent up since Noor moved in.
- e
Noor regrets not asking enough questions before signing the contract.
- f
Noor's neighbours in the suburbs were unfriendly.
- g
Noor is planning to move back to the suburbs.
7
Write: where you live
Write a forum post about your home.
Write a post for a housing forum (120–150 words) about where you live now. What do you wish were different about your home or your neighbourhood? Is there anything you regret about choosing it? What would make your daily life easier? Use wish and if only at least four times. Word box: commute · landlord · spacious · affordable · suburb · overcrowded · rent · neighbourhood Example: I wish my flat were a bit more spacious, and if only the rent weren't so high! I wish I had looked at more neighbourhoods before I moved.
Suggested minimum: 120 words
0 words · aim for at least 120
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 13 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Renting a home
- landlord
- a person who owns a flat or house and lets you live in it for money
- rent
- the money you pay every month to live in a flat or house
- spacious
- with a lot of room inside
- affordable
- cheap enough for most people to pay for
- flat
- a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a building
- flatmate
- a person who shares a flat with you
- move in
- to start living in a new home
City life and wishes
- commute
- the journey to and from work every day
- suburb
- an area where people live, outside the centre of a city
- neighbourhood
- the area of a town where you live
- overcrowded
- with too many people in it
- wish
- to want something that is impossible or unlikely: I wish I lived nearer work.
- if only
- used to say strongly that you wish something were different
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