if only I would

[aysaa]

Hello,

If only he would admit this. (It is OK)

But,

What I have understood is that we can't use ''If only I(we) would.........'', am I right?

Thanks.

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

I don't understand your question.

What I have understood is that we can't use ''If only I(we) would.........'', am I right?

What makes you think that we can't start a sentence with 'If only I/we would...'?

 

[aysaa]

We can only use wish + would to talk about things we can’t change.

If only I wouldn’t eat so much chocolate.

Is that OK?

 

[emsr2d2]

You're right. I can't think of any natural situation where "I wish I would/wouldn't ..." is possible.

I wish I didn't eat so much chocolate.
I wish I could stop eating so much chocolate.

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

We can only use wish + would to talk about things we can’t change.

Ah, now I see what you mean. I've just googled this topic and indeed, some sites say that you can't use wish and would with the same subject. Nevertheless, some native speakers do accept and use this construction (and some don't):

Question: I wish I would win the lottery.

Incorrect? Can you think of a circumstance when it could be correctly employed?

Thanks

Answer: I don't see anything wrong with your sentence, Gethynrees. It seems fine to me. What troubles you about it? Is it the use of "would"? Is it the omission of "that"?
I wish I would win the lottery - WordReference Forums

I wish I would win the lottery sounds OK to me, because winning depends on things outside my control.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1823166&p=9111304#post9111304

"I wish I would ....." is what I'd say if I were talking about something that is under my control.

I wish I would make fewer spelling mistakes.
​

I wouldn't use it about winning the lottery, because that is out of my control.
I wish I would win the lottery - WordReference Forums

In addition, there are 223,000 examples of "I wish I would" in Google Books. I don't think that it's entirely out of the question - at least, not in the same way that 'I am looking forward to hear from you' is unacceptable. But there again, others may disagree.

 

[emsr2d2]

If I were talking about the lottery, I would say "I wish my lottery numbers would come up!"

If I wanted to associate the lottery with myself, I would say "I hope I win the lottery".