Expressing a Wish or a Regret — English Bac Éco

Dans le programme du Bac Éco

English has a coefficient of 2 in the Bac Sciences Économiques stream, the same weight as Philosophy and Law. It sits behind the professional subjects (General Economics and Accounting, coefficient 6; Business Organisation, coefficient 3; Applied Mathematics, coefficient 4). The stream's grounding in institutions and collective behaviour makes the English themes on citizenship, organisations and development familiar ground.

À l'épreuve

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (about 180 words). Economics candidates are used to analysing collective phenomena and institutions, which helps on essay prompts about international organisations, brain drain or sustainable development — provided the answer stays in plain English, not economics jargon.

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac Éco English exam (coefficient 2)
Express a wish about the present with wish + past simple
Express a regret about the past with wish + past perfect
Express a wish for someone else to change their behaviour with wish + would
Use if only for a stronger wish or regret, with the same tense rules as wish

Notions clés

Wish about the present: wish + past simple

wish + past simple describes something you would like to be different NOW: “I wish I knew the answer.” (I don't know it). Use were for all subjects: “I wish I were taller.”

Regret about the past: wish + past perfect

wish + past perfect describes a regret about something that did or did not happen: “I wish I had studied harder.” (I didn't). “I wish I hadn't said that.” (I did say it).

Wish + would and if only

wish + would expresses a wish for someone else to change an annoying habit: “I wish you would stop interrupting me.” if only works exactly like wish but is more emphatic: “If only I had listened!”

Erreurs fréquentes

Using a present tense after wish for a present wish: “I wish I know” is wrong — use “I wish I knew”.

Using wish + would about yourself: you cannot wish yourself would do something — for your own future intention use a different structure (“I hope I will…”).

Confusing wish + past simple (present wish) with wish + past perfect (past regret): “I wish I studied” (now) vs “I wish I had studied” (then).

Exemple corrigé

Énoncé

A student says after the exam: “I did not revise the passive voice.” Turn this into a regret using wish, and into an emphatic version using if only.

Correction

Identify the time. The exam is over: this is a regret about the past → wish + past perfect.

Build the wish. “I wish I had revised the passive voice.”

Emphatic version with if only. “If only I had revised the passive voice!”

Le cours, puis l'entraînement.

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3 exercices pour t'entraîner

Exercice 1

Easy

Complete: “I wish I ___ how to swim.” (know / knew / had known) — a present wish

Voir la correction

knew — wish + past simple for a wish about the present.

Exercice 2

Medium

Rewrite as a past regret: “I ate too much at dinner.”

Voir la correction

“I wish I hadn't eaten so much at dinner.” — wish + past perfect (negative) for a regret about a past action.

Exercice 3

Hard

Correct: “I wish you will stop making noise, and I wish I studied medicine last year.”

Voir la correction

Two errors: for someone else's habit use wish + would (“I wish you would stop making noise”); for a past regret use wish + past perfect (“I wish I had studied medicine last year”).

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Questions fréquentes

Why is were used with I after wish?

wish takes the same unreal past as the second conditional, where were replaces was for all subjects in careful style: “I wish I were…”, like “If I were…”.

What is the difference between wish and hope?

hope is about something still possible in the future (“I hope you pass”); wish is about something contrary to the present or past reality (“I wish I had passed”).

Is if only interchangeable with wish?

Yes, with the same tense rules, but if only is more emphatic and often stands as an exclamation on its own: “If only I had known!”

How do I fit English revision around the economics and accounting subjects?

A short weekly session: one chapter (rule or word list, two examples), then a short paragraph. Focus especially on the society themes — citizenship, international organisations, development — which are close to your other subjects, and keep a model introduction and conclusion ready. A mark above your average is within reach.

Is this grammar point actually tested on the Bac Éco English paper?

Yes — in the Language section as gap-fill, sentence-joining or error-correction, and indirectly in Writing, where the same structures decide whether a sentence is marked as accurate. One rule, two examples and one typical mistake per point is enough to cover both.