Grammar ～ば／たら／と・・・たい／のに／よかった　など

～ば／たら／と。。。たい／のに／よかった　など

I wish/if only... (contrary to the present/unreal)

Structure

～ば／～たら／～と … たい／のに／よかったなど

Explanation

Used to express wishes contrary to current reality or things that are not true; often used with ～ば／～たら／～と…たい／のに／よかった….

Examples

1もし私（わたし）が医者（いしゃ）だったら、病気（びょうき）で苦（くる）しむ人（ひと）たちを助（たす）けてあげられるのに。

If I were a doctor, I could help people who are suffering from illness.

2「買（か）わないんですか」「ええ、もう少（すこ）し安（やす）ければ買（か）うんですけど」

"Aren't you going to buy it?" "Well, I'd buy it if it were a little cheaper."

3もし生（う）まれ変（か）わることができるのなら、次（つぎ）は男（おとこ）（／女（おんな））に生（う）まれたい。

If I could be reborn, I'd like to be born a man (or a woman) next time.

4子（こ）どもがいなければ、もっと働（はたら）けるのだが。

I could work more if I didn't have children.

5「すみません、説明（せつめい）が下手（へた）で。もっとうまく説明（せつめい）できるといいんですが」

Sorry, I'm not good at explaining. I wish I could explain it better.

Explanation

Expresses regret about the past, as in 'if only then...'; emphasizes feeling of remorse about what happened.

Examples

1もう少（すこ）し時間（じかん）があれば、全部（ぜんぶ）できたのに。

If I had had a little more time, I could have done it all.

2「きのうの交流会（こうりゅうかい）、楽（たの）しかったよ。鈴木（すずき）さんも行（い）けばよかったのに」

Yesterday's get-together was fun. Suzuki, you should have come too.

3あのときもう少（すこ）し勇気（ゆうき）があったら、彼（かれ）を助（たす）けてあげられたかもしれない。

If I'd had a bit more courage then, I might have been able to help him.

4あと少（すこ）しで合格（ごうかく）できたのに。もうちょっとがんばればよかった。

I almost passed. I should have tried a bit harder.

5タクシーで行（い）けばよかった。そうすれば間（ま）に合（あ）ったかもしれない。

I should have taken a taxi. If I had, I might have made it in time.

6友（とも）だちを怒（おこ）らせてしまった。あんなこと、言（い）わなければよかった。

I upset my friend. I shouldn't have said that.

Note

1) Easily mistaken for a normal conditional sentence. → This pattern is used to express wishes contrary to the present, things that did not happen.2) Pay attention to phrases commonly found in the following clause. → Often seen: ～たい／～のに／～よかった… to express “if only...”.3) Not used when stating a condition that can be realized immediately. → If it's a plan/real condition, use a normal conditional, not the “wish” nuance.