Which of the options mean the same. There may be more than one.

1 I regret I didn’t learn foreign languages.

a. I wish I hadn’t learnt foreign languages.

b. I wish I had learnt foreign languages.

c. I wish I learnt foreign languages.

d. I should have learnt foreign languages.

2 What a pity I went on that tour.

a. I should have gone on that tour.

b. I wish I had gone on that tour.

c. I wish I hadn’t gone on that tour.

d. I shouldn’t have gone on that tour.

Write a few sentences that the people in the pictures would make about the situation they are in. Use ‘wish’ and ‘should(n’t)’.

JUST IMAGINE …. TALKING ABOUT FUTURE

1 Imagine if everyone could choose their children’s appearance. How would the human race change?

2 Imagine that we had no sense of smell. What difference would it make to our lives?

3 Suppose cigarette smoking was made completely illegal. What would the effect be?

4 Suppose that couples were banned from having more than one baby. What would the effect be?

5 Suppose we discovered a way of communicating with other species (for example, cats). How would this change our attitudes?

1 Imagine that a drug was invented so that we no longer needed to sleep. How would our lives change?

2 Suppose a cure was found for all colds and minor viruses. How would it affect our lives?

3 Imagine that the use of artificial lights was restricted to two hours a day. How would we have to change our lives?

4 Imagine that we all had the power to read each other’s thoughts. What would the effect be?

5 Suppose people had to pass an exam to become parents. How would this change society?

REGRETS - MY FEELINGS ABOUT THE PAST

At the age of nineteen, and to the horror of her parents, Liam had a heart tattooed on her shoulder. Eight years later, a lot has changed in Liam’s life, but the tattoo is still there. How does she feel about it now?

“Well, one decision I now regret is getting this tattoo. I’d always liked the idea of having one. I really thought they looked good and some of my friends had them. I felt a bit scared about how much it would hurt, and I knew that my parents would hate the idea, but one day I got this done. It seemed like a really good idea at the time, my boyfriend really liked it and I think if he hadn’t been so keen I wouldn’t have done it. My parents were completely horrified, of course. I remember my dad saying he’d never seen a girl with a tattoo, and he hoped he never would again, but they sort of accepted it in the end. Now, I wish I’d thought more about it, especially the fact that you can’t get rid of it, or it’s incredibly painful and expensive anyway, so I suppose I’m stuck with it now.”

Here are four people who regret things they did or didn’t do. Read and make sentences about them. Remember about ‘wish’ and ‘should’.

1 Patrick has only ever been in love once: he married at eighteen, but a year later, he and his wife were divorced. He never had any children.

2 Charles left school at sixteen. Although he’s now a successful businessman, he’s sorry he never got a university education.

3 Dona met a gorgeous Italian man while she was on holiday. He asked her to go out with him, but she was too shy and they never saw each other again.

4 Two years ago, Elaine gave up her 70.000-a-year job as a company director to work for a charity for homeless people on a salary of 20.000 a year. As a result, she has changed her lifestyle a lot, including moving house, and selling her Porsche.

COMPLEX OBJECT