How are your teeth? How often do you go to the dentist?
Here is part of a poem by Pam Ayres.
Oh, I wish I'd looked after my teeth,
And spotted the perils beneath,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after my teeth.
Look at the first line of the poem. "Oh, I wish I had looked after my teeth." It is a wish about the past. When she was younger, Pam Ayres says, she did not look after her teeth. She ate too many sweets and did not brush her teeth properly. Now her dentist says she has to have 3 fillings.She wishes that she had looked after her teeth.
Here are some more wishes about the past.
When I was at school, I didn't work very hard. Now I wish that I had worked harder.
The train is an hour late. I wish I had brought a book to read.
George was at a really good party last night. I wish I had gone with him
George has a headache this morning. He wishes that he had not drunk so much at the party.
And here are two more examples using a different expression "if only…"
Joanne's Mum refuses to speak to Kevin. If only he had remembered her birthday.
My brother crashed his new car into a tree. If only he had not been driving so fast.
There is a grammar and vocabulary note with this podcast. If you are listening using iTunes or an iPod, you will need to go to the podcast website to read it.