General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 05 Topic 04.doc  LANGUAGE FOCUS 04 Expressing regret and anxiety 1. Expressing regret Zahra says: Well, you should try it. I did it about two years ago and now I manage to save a few dollars each pay. It really helps. I wish I had done it sooner. Zahra talks about something that she didn't do in the past. She is now sorry that she didn't do it. She says, "I wish I had done it sooner. " She regrets her past actions. She uses the third conditional structure, because she talks about an imaginary event - something that did not happen. Alex says: Sometimes I really regret not going to uni. I could have got a much better job if I had. Alex talks about something he didn't do in the past, which he now is sorry about. He expresses regret: "Sometimes I really regret not going to uni." Zahra says: I really wish I had accepted that job I was offered at KPY last year. I would ` have been in a more secure position now if I had. But as my mother always said, there's no point crying over spilt milk. Again Zahra expresses regret about something she didn't do in the past . Again she use the third conditional, "I would have been in a more secure position now if I had." We can use the following structures when we want to express regret for something we have or haven't done. Look wasting time that I wasted time when I was younger. I regret not going have gone to uni. I should never have wasted time when I was younger. I had gone to uni. I wish If only I hadn't wasted time when I was younger. 165