Three Phrases for Expressing Regret in English
2020-08-28
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1Can you think of something recent that you wish you had done differently? I can.
2Last weekend, I decided to paint my living room walls a new color.
3But the green I chose was a huge mistake! After painting two walls, I looked up and realized the color was terribly drab.
4I regret painting the walls that green.
5I wish I had not hurried to paint the room.
6I should have tested the color first.
7To regret means to feel sorry for, sad about or disappointed in something you did or did not do.
8There are a lot of ways to express regret in English.
9Today on our program, we will look at three phrases Americans use to talk about regrets big or small.
10They are: I regret, I wish and I should have.
11The first phrase is "I regret."
12When we use this phrase, we usually follow it with some form of noun, such as a gerund, noun phrase or noun clause.
13It is quite common for English speakers to follow the phrase "I regret" with a gerund.
14You may remember that gerunds are nouns ending in -ing.
15Listen to this speaker use a gerund after the phrase:
16I regret coming here. I want to go home now.
17Did you find the gerund? It was "coming."
18A short time ago, I too used a gerund when I said, "I regret painting the walls that green."
19Sometimes we follow the phrase "I regret" with a noun phrase.
20Listen for the noun phrase in the following sentence:
21I regret that purchase. It was a huge waste of money.
22Did you hear the noun phrase? It was "that purchase."
23Other times, we follow the words "I regret" with a noun clause.
24You may remember that a clause is a part of a sentence with its own subject and verb.
25Noun clauses act as nouns.
26Listen for the noun clause in our next example:
27I regret what I said yesterday. It was not fair. I'm sorry.
28Did you find the noun clause? It was "what I said yesterday."
29Next up is the phrase "I wish."
30This phrase has a few uses in English.
31When used to express regret, we are saying we feel sorry that something was not different in the past.
32For example, earlier I said, "I wish I had not hurried to paint the room."
33As you hear this next speaker use the phrase, make a mental note of the verb tense he uses.
34I wish I had studied harder for the entrance exam.
35Did you note the verb tense? It was past perfect and the verb was "had studied."
36When we use "I wish" to express regret, the usual verb tense is the past perfect.
37However, in spoken English, Americans sometimes use the simple past tense instead, like this:
38I wish I studied harder for the entrance exam.
39It is also worth noting that noun clauses generally follow the verb "wish," just like in the entrance exam example and in my own statement about the paint project.
40You can learn more about noun clauses on earlier Everyday Grammar programs.
41Our final phrase for today is "I should have."
42When someone uses this phrase, it means something did not happen but we wish it had happened.
43For example, I said, "I should have tested the color first."
44You may remember that the verb "should" is a modal verb.
45The word "have" in the phrase is part of the present perfect verb tense.
46The one I used was "have tested."
47Now, listen to this speaker using "I should have" and take note of the verb:
48I was late for work today. I should have woken up earlier.
49He used the present perfect verb "have woken up."
50We can also use the negative form -- "I should not have" -- to express the same general ideas, like this:
51I was late for work today. I should not have slept so late.
52Now, you try it! Use one or two of the phrases from this program to talk about a regret or something you wish you had done differently.
53I'm Alice Bryant.
1Can you think of something recent that you wish you had done differently? I can. 2Last weekend, I decided to paint my living room walls a new color. But the green I chose was a huge mistake! After painting two walls, I looked up and realized the color was terribly drab. 3I regret painting the walls that green. I wish I had not hurried to paint the room. I should have tested the color first. 4To regret means to feel sorry for, sad about or disappointed in something you did or did not do. 5There are a lot of ways to express regret in English. Today on our program, we will look at three phrases Americans use to talk about regrets big or small. They are: I regret, I wish and I should have. 6I regret... 7The first phrase is "I regret." When we use this phrase, we usually follow it with some form of noun, such as a gerund, noun phrase or noun clause. 8It is quite common for English speakers to follow the phrase "I regret" with a gerund. You may remember that gerunds are nouns ending in -ing. 9Listen to this speaker use a gerund after the phrase: 10I regret coming here. I want to go home now. 11Did you find the gerund? It was "coming." 12A short time ago, I too used a gerund when I said, "I regret painting the walls that green." 13Sometimes we follow the phrase "I regret" with a noun phrase. Listen for the noun phrase in the following sentence: 14I regret that purchase. It was a huge waste of money. 15Did you hear the noun phrase? It was "that purchase." 16Other times, we follow the words "I regret" with a noun clause. You may remember that a clause is a part of a sentence with its own subject and verb. Noun clauses act as nouns. 17Listen for the noun clause in our next example: 18I regret what I said yesterday. It was not fair. I'm sorry. 19Did you find the noun clause? It was "what I said yesterday." 20I wish (that)... 21Next up is the phrase "I wish." 22This phrase has a few uses in English. When used to express regret, we are saying we feel sorry that something was not different in the past. For example, earlier I said, "I wish I had not hurried to paint the room." 23As you hear this next speaker use the phrase, make a mental note of the verb tense he uses. 24I wish I had studied harder for the entrance exam. 25Did you note the verb tense? It was past perfect and the verb was "had studied." When we use "I wish" to express regret, the usual verb tense is the past perfect. 26However, in spoken English, Americans sometimes use the simple past tense instead, like this: 27I wish I studied harder for the entrance exam. 28It is also worth noting that noun clauses generally follow the verb "wish," just like in the entrance exam example and in my own statement about the paint project. You can learn more about noun clauses on earlier Everyday Grammar programs. 29I should / shouldn't have... 30Our final phrase for today is "I should have." When someone uses this phrase, it means something did not happen but we wish it had happened. For example, I said, "I should have tested the color first." 31You may remember that the verb "should" is a modal verb. The word "have" in the phrase is part of the present perfect verb tense. The one I used was "have tested." 32Now, listen to this speaker using "I should have" and take note of the verb: 33I was late for work today. I should have woken up earlier. 34He used the present perfect verb "have woken up." 35We can also use the negative form -- "I should not have" -- to express the same general ideas, like this: 36I was late for work today. I should not have slept so late. 37Now, you try it! Use one or two of the phrases from this program to talk about a regret or something you wish you had done differently. 38I'm Alice Bryant. 39Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 40________________________________________________________________ 41You might hear an American say something like this: "I wish I would have studied harder for the entrance exam." 42Technically, the structure "I wish I would have..." is not grammatically correct. The word "would" should not be used with the phrase "I wish" in formal English. However, in spoken American English, it is quite common and often considered acceptable. 43________________________________________________________________ 44Words in This Story 45drab - adj. not bright or colorful 46disappointed - adj. feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected 47phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express an idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 48clause - n. a part of a sentence with its own subject and verb 49verb tense - n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened 50modal verb - a verb (such as can or should) that is used with another verb to express possibility, necessity or permission 51negative - adj. expressing denial or refusal