Expressing a Wish or a Regret — English Bac PC

Dans le programme du Bac PC

English is a nationally examined subject in the Bac Sciences Physiques (PC) stream, with a coefficient of 2 — the lowest weighting in the stream, level with Philosophy and well behind Mathematics and Physics-Chemistry (coefficient 7). The paper still tests reading comprehension, language and guided writing, and because differences between candidates are narrow, a few extra marks in English move the overall average as much as a mark in a science subject.

À l'épreuve

The national English paper has three parts: Reading Comprehension (a text plus questions), Language (grammar and vocabulary in context), and Writing (a guided paragraph or short essay of about 180 words). PC candidates should protect a fixed slot for the Language section, where accuracy earns quick, reliable marks even when revision time goes mostly to the sciences.

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac PC 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.

Orka génère des exercices illimités et des examens blancs corrigés sur tout le programme de Anglais du Bac PC, avec un suivi de ta progression chapitre par chapitre.

Continue gratuitement sur Orka

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”).

Va plus loin sur ce chapitre

50+ exercices interactifs sur ce chapitre

Générés et corrigés étape par étape par l’IA, à ton niveau.

Connexion requise

Quiz IA adaptatif

Questions qui s’ajustent automatiquement à tes réussites et erreurs.

Connexion requise

Corrigés d’annales sur ce chapitre

Sujets d’examens nationaux et régionaux déjà tombés.

Connexion requise

Plan de révision personnalisé

Priorise ce chapitre selon ta progression réelle sur toute la filière.

Premium

Flashcards du chapitre

Formules et définitions clés en mode révision rapide.

Premium

Tuteur IA en Darija

Pose tes questions sur ce chapitre et obtiens une explication immédiate.

Premium

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 should a PC candidate revise English at coefficient 2?

Efficiently, not heavily. Keep one clear rule and two example sentences per grammar point, one word list per theme, and a reusable essay skeleton (introduction, two body paragraphs, balanced conclusion). Thirty focused minutes a week is enough to lift the English mark, and that mark counts in the average exactly like a mark in a science subject.

Is this grammar point actually tested on the Bac PC 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.