Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.
1 A: I wish the little boy had told (tell us where
his parents are.
B: Yes, it's so sad to see him living in the streets.
2 A: I wish (not/yell) at that
elderly man.
B: Well, if you see him again, you can apologise.
3 A: If only!
(have) more time
to volunteer at the animal shelter.
B: Don't worry. You do a lot more than other
people.
4 A: I wish I (not/drop out) of school.
B: Well, you can always take a night course.
5 A: If only more rich people
(give) money to those in need.
B: That would truly make a difference.
6 A: If only the company
(not/close down).
B: I know. Hundreds of people were left jobless.
​

1 A: I wish the little boy had told (tell us where his parents are.
B: Yes, it's so sad to see him living in the streets.

In this sentence, we are expressing a wish about a past event that did not happen. To do this, we use the past perfect tense. The verb "tell" needs to be in the past perfect tense, which is formed by using "had" + the past participle of the verb, in this case "told".

2 A: I wish (not/yell) at that elderly man.
B: Well, if you see him again, you can apologise.

In this sentence, we are expressing a wish about a past event. The verb "yell" needs to be in the past tense. However, in this case, we are expressing a negative wish, so we need to use the negative form of the verb. Therefore, the verb "yell" needs to be in the past simple tense with "not" in front of it, forming "did not yell".

3 A: If only! (have) more time to volunteer at the animal shelter.
B: Don't worry. You do a lot more than other people.

In this sentence, we are expressing a hypothetical situation in the present. The verb "have" needs to be in the present simple tense because it is expressing a general or habitual action or state. Therefore, the correct form is "have".

4 A: I wish I (not/drop out) of school.
B: Well, you can always take a night course.

In this sentence, we are expressing a wish about a past event. The verb "drop out" needs to be in the past tense. However, in this case, we are expressing a negative wish, so we need to use the negative form of the verb. Therefore, the verb "drop out" needs to be in the past simple tense with "not" in front of it, forming "did not drop out".

5 A: If only more rich people (give) money to those in need.
B: That would truly make a difference.

In this sentence, we are expressing a hypothetical situation in the present. The verb "give" needs to be in the present simple tense because it is expressing a general or habitual action or state. Therefore, the correct form is "give".

6 A: If only the company (not/close down).
B: I know. Hundreds of people were left jobless.

In this sentence, we are expressing a hypothetical situation in the present. The verb "close down" needs to be in the present simple tense because it is expressing a general or habitual action or state. However, in this case, we are expressing a negative wish, so we need to use the negative form of the verb. Therefore, the correct form is "does not close down".