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If only they'd kept Superman: wish and if only + past perfect for regrets

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches wish and if only with the past perfect through the story of Superman's creators, who sold their hero in 1938.

Grammar
Wish and if only + had + past participle for regrets (If only they'd kept the rights!), in every person and in questions, against wishes about now.
Topic
How two high school friends from Cleveland created Superman and signed him away, with words such as sign away, hold on to, rights and publisher.
Activities
An explainer to read, a comic shop dialogue and a reader's voice memo to hear, self-checking drills, a chat to plan a talk and a wheel to give it.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: capes on!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: heroes, comics and dealsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a hero for $130

    • Look at the picture: where a hero beganPictureUnlock
    • Read Leona's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: regrets at the counter

    • Listen to Leona and MackListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Bud's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: If only they'd kept the rights

    • Study the scheme: If only they'd kept the rightsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Mack's shop blogDrag and dropTry it
    • Fill in the table: every personFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: how a hero went global

    • Choose the right replies: plan your talk with MackChatTry it
    • Put the parts of Mack's model talk in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
    • Sort the phrases into the correct columns: the parts of a talkSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a talk templateChoose the optionUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answer: give your talkSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: now or in the past?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Leona answers BudChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Maureen's talkDrag and dropUnlock

35 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • rights
  • publisher
  • creator
  • superhero
  • villain
  • cape
  • comic strip
  • collector
  • debut

Grammar: wish and if only + past perfect for regrets

A regret about the past needs a form one step further back than a wish about now: I wish I had kept my comics means I sold them. Two friends who signed away their hero before his first comic went on sale give learners a regret anyone can share. They put had + past participle after wish, read 'd as had and keep present wishes apart from past ones.

I wish I had kept them

A regret about the past: wish or if only + the past perfect (had + past participle). For a wish about now, use the past simple or could.

Had + past participle for every person

After wish and if only, the past perfect looks the same for every person: I wish I had kept them. They wish they hadn't sold them. Only wish changes: he, she and it take wishes. If only sounds stronger: If only they'd kept the rights!

PersonRegretNegativeIf only…
II wish I had kept (I'd kept) them.I wish I hadn't sold them.If only I'd kept them!
youYou wish you had kept them.You wish you hadn't sold them.If only you'd kept them!
heHe wishes he had kept them.He wishes he hadn't sold them.If only he'd kept them!
sheShe wishes she had kept them.She wishes she hadn't sold them.If only she'd kept them!
itThe town wishes it had kept its theater.The town wishes it hadn't sold its theater.If only it had kept its theater!
weWe wish we had kept them.We wish we hadn't sold them.If only we'd kept them!
theyThey wish they had kept them.They wish they hadn't sold them.If only they'd kept them!

Now or in the past?

A wish about now takes the past simple or could: I wish I knew more about comics (I don't). A regret about the past takes had + past participle: I wish I had kept my comics (I sold them). The time of the situation decides the form.

About now: wish + past simple or could

  • I wish I knew more about comics. (I don't know much.)
  • Mack wishes he had more space. (His shop is small.)
  • I wish I could draw. (I can't.)

About the past: wish + past perfect

  • I wish I had kept my comics. (I sold them.)
  • Leona wishes they hadn't signed everything away. (They did.)
  • If only they'd asked for more! (They didn't.)

'd = had, wished and questions

In a regret, 'd before a past participle means had: If only they'd asked for more! After wished, nothing changes: In 1995, he wished he had kept them. Questions use do: Do you wish you'd kept it? And had had is fine: I wish I'd had a camera.

'd = had

In a wish about the past, 'd means had, and a past participle comes next: If only they'd kept (= they had kept) the rights. After wished, the verb doesn't change: In 1995, he wished he had kept them. Questions: Do you wish you'd kept it? For a thing you didn't have, say had had: I wish I'd had a camera.

In Mack's shop

  • Every day. If only I'd held on to those boxes!
  • Do you wish you'd kept it?
  • I wish they hadn't signed everything away.
  • In print, but not in their hands. If only they'd asked for more!
  • Says the man who still wishes he'd held on to every comic he ever owned.
  • Bud: Sure, I wish they'd gotten a better deal.

No would have, no past simple

Would have is a mistake after wish or if only: If only they had kept the rights, not would have kept. The past simple is wrong for a past regret (I wish I didn't sign it last year), and so is the base form after had (had keep).

No would have, no past simple

Don't use would have after wish or if only: If only they had kept the rights (not: If only they would have kept). And for a past regret, the past simple is wrong: I wish I hadn't signed it last year (not: I wish I didn't sign it last year).

Common mistakes

  • I wish I didn't sign that contract last year.

    I wish I hadn't signed that contract last year.

    a past regret: had + past participle

  • If only they would have kept the rights.

    If only they had kept the rights.

    no would have after if only or wish

  • She wishes she had keep the comics.

    She wishes she had kept the comics.

    had + past participle: kept

  • He wish he had kept them.

    He wishes he had kept them.

    he / she / it wishes

More lessons on this grammar: Third and mixed conditionals lessons and exercises

Try the wish + past perfect exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 21 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • express a regret about the past with wish + past perfect: I wish they hadn't signed everything away.
  • make the regret stronger with If only and 'd: If only I'd held on to those boxes!
  • use every person and ask about regrets: He wishes he had kept them. Do you wish you'd kept it?
  • tell a wish about now from a regret about the past: I wish I knew more about comics against I wish I had kept my comics.
  • give a short talk on how an American hero went global, with a regret of your own: My regret? I wish I had heard about it sooner.

Lesson 19 is the third lesson of Pop culture goes global, unit 5 of English B2.1 · How the World Works. It moves lesson 18's wishes about now into the past and reuses had + past participle from the third conditional of lesson 5. Lesson 20 closes the unit with have someone do, and lesson 22 adds should have for missed chances. A hero sold for $130 before his first comic was on sale invites a regret.

Students open boxes of questions about comics, superheroes and things they gave away, then learn twelve words, from sign away and contract to villain and debut, with pictures and audio. They read Leona's explainer on Superman's start in Cleveland, then hear Leona argue with Mack in his comic shop and Bud, a cartoonist from Ohio, defend the deal; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking exercises, among them a shop blog with wishes old and new to drag in. The speaking chapter builds a talk step by step: a chat with Mack, his model talk to order, phrases to sort, a template and a wheel to give the talk.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the comic words and a memory game, then forms to choose and regrets to build from the words in brackets, word order, a quiz on now or the past, Leona's newsletter answer to Bud and Maureen's talk with words to drag in.

Grammar:
wish + past perfect · if only + past perfect · regrets about the past · wishes about the past
Topic:
Superman · Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster · Cleveland · comic books · Action Comics · pop culture · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Put two timelines on the board: one for now (I can't draw) and one for the past (I sold my comics). Students write a wish under each and compare the two forms.
  • Ask what students regret selling or throwing away before the dialogue. Then play it and let the class decide whether Mack's regret, a collection sold for a guitar, beats theirs.
  • Check the facts before the opinion: students find the two 1938 dates in Leona's explainer, March 1 and April 18, and only then argue whether signing was a mistake.
  • Give the audience a job during the talks: while a classmate presents from the wheel, the others note every wish or if only and check the form afterward.

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The whole course: English B2.1 · How the World Works

32 lessons for adults at B2 in American English, each answering one question about how the world works. The team of The Why Desk, a small online magazine in Pittsburgh, takes on one question a week, from the day a computer beat the world chess champion to eight people sealed inside Biosphere 2. Learners tell stories with narrative tenses, speculate about the past and the future, and report what experts claim. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 AI and the future of work

    narrative tenses, by and until, be bound to and be likely to, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 1Checkmate: the day a computer beat the championNarrative tenses: past simple, past continuous and past perfect
    2. Lesson 2The robot car that crossed the desertTime prepositions: by, until, within, throughout, in time and on time
    3. Lesson 3Can a chatbot fool you?Probability about the future: be bound to, be likely to, the chances are
    4. Lesson 4By 2035, what will AI have designed?The future perfect simple: will have + past participle

  2. Unit 2 Health breakthroughs

    the third conditional, the past perfect and past continuous passive, have something done, the passive with two objects

    1. Lesson 5The moldy melon that changed medicineThe third conditional: if + had done, would have done
    2. Lesson 61.8 million Polio PioneersThe past perfect passive and the past continuous passive
    3. Lesson 7One clinic, many doctorsHave / get something done
    4. Lesson 8A kidney from a twinThe passive with two objects

  3. Unit 3 Moving people

    the past perfect continuous, the passive infinitive and -ing form, it's worth and there's no point, the future in the past

    1. Lesson 9Six years to the golden spikeThe past perfect continuous vs the past perfect simple
    2. Lesson 10Riding a pod with no driverThe passive infinitive and the passive -ing form
    3. Lesson 11The town that painted bike lanes firstIt's worth, there's no point and it's no use + -ing
    4. Lesson 12The highways that were supposed to take 13 yearsThe future in the past

  4. Unit 4 Wildlife comebacks

    reporting verbs with a that clause, with an object and infinitive and with -ing, verbs of perception

    1. Lesson 13Did wolves really change Yellowstone's rivers?Reporting verbs + that clause
    2. Lesson 14Bringing a parrot back from the edgeReporting verbs + object + (not) to + base form
    3. Lesson 15The beavers that came by parachuteReporting verbs + -ing and verb + preposition + -ing
    4. Lesson 16Fifteen bison take the trainVerbs of perception + object + base form or -ing

  5. Unit 5 Pop culture goes global

    comment adverbs, wish and if only for the present and the past, have someone do and get someone to do

    1. Lesson 17The party that started hip hopComment adverbs: apparently, supposedly, undoubtedly
    2. Lesson 18Slide to the left!Wish and if only for wishes about now
    3. Lesson 19 · you're hereIf only they'd kept SupermanWish and if only + past perfect for regrets
    4. Lesson 20The hit factory on West Grand BoulevardCausative have and get: have someone do, get someone to do

  6. Unit 6 Money and smart choices

    -ever words and no matter, should have and could have, prepositions for numbers and change, it's time and would rather

    1. Lesson 21The bank that never closed-ever words and no matter
    2. Lesson 22One marshmallow now or two later?Should have, shouldn't have and could have
    3. Lesson 23Benjamin Franklin's 200-year giftPrepositions for numbers and change
    4. Lesson 24Why buy a drill you'll use once?It's (high) time and would rather + past simple

  7. Unit 7 Language and communication

    must have, might have and can't have, verb prefixes and suffixes, past modals in continuous and passive forms, agreement with quantities

    1. Lesson 25How did one man write down a language?Past modals of deduction: must have, might have, can't have
    2. Lesson 26Why do Americans write “color”?Verb prefixes and suffixes: misspell, rewrite, simplify, shorten
    3. Lesson 27The joke that needed a smileyPast modals in continuous and passive forms
    4. Lesson 28Can preschoolers save a language?Subject-verb agreement with quantities and collective nouns

  8. Unit 8 Exploring the extremes

    dimension nouns, the future continuous and future perfect continuous, compound adjectives, only, even and just

    1. Lesson 29A walk on the ocean floorDimension nouns and phrases: depth, width, height
    2. Lesson 30Six months of night at the South PoleThe future continuous and the future perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 31Flying on pedal powerCompound adjectives with numbers and participles
    4. Lesson 32Two years under glassFocus adverbs: only, even, just and at all

Questions about this lesson

How do you use wish with the past perfect?
Use wish + had + past participle for a regret about something that already happened: I wish I had kept my comics means I sold them and I'm sorry. The negative is hadn't: I wish they hadn't signed everything away. In speech, had becomes 'd: I wish I'd kept it. The B2 lesson If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai teaches it with the sale of a famous hero.
What does “if only” + past perfect mean?
It's a stronger, more emotional regret, often with an exclamation mark: If only they'd kept the rights! means they didn't, and the speaker is sorry. It takes the same form as wish: If only I had held on to those boxes! If only it hadn't snowed on the day of the fair! In If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai, Mack and Leona both use it in the comic shop.
What are some examples of wish and if only with the past perfect?
Five from If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai: Do you wish you'd kept it? If only I'd held on to those boxes! I wish they hadn't signed everything away. If only they'd asked for more! Sure, I wish they'd gotten a better deal. Every one looks back at something that can't change: a sale, a contract, a price.
What's the difference between “I wish I knew” and “I wish I had known”?
I wish I knew is about now: the past simple turns a present fact around (I don't know). I wish I had known is about the past: I didn't know then. Compare Mack wishes he had more space (his shop is small now) with I wish I had kept my comics (I sold them). The scheme in If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai sets the two side by side, and a homework quiz asks which is which.
Is it “if only they had kept” or “if only they would have kept”?
It's if only they had kept: don't use would have after wish or if only. Two more slips are common: the past simple for a past regret (I wish I didn't sign it last year should be hadn't signed) and the base form after had (she had keep should be had kept). The wrong replies in the chat of If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai include all three.
Who created Superman?
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two friends from Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Siegel was the writer and Shuster the artist. They began creating Superman in 1933, when he was a bald villain with mind powers, then turned him into a caped hero from another world. In his first comic, Action Comics #1, on sale on April 18, 1938, he could leap tall buildings but couldn't fly. If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai tells the story.
How much were Siegel and Shuster paid for Superman?
They were paid $130 under a contract with Detective Comics, Inc., later DC Comics, signed on March 1, 1938, about seven weeks before the first comic went on sale. The contract gave the publisher the rights to Superman. Sources disagree on what the money covered: one calls it the price of the rights, another the pay for the first story. Leona's explainer in If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai weighs both.
How do I teach wish + past perfect to B2 students?
Start with a regret the class can feel, such as selling something that later became valuable, and set it next to a wish about now. Then show had + past participle for every person and 'd in speech. If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai moves from Leona's explainer and a comic shop dialogue to the scheme, a blog with wishes to drag in and four more drills.
What's a good game for practicing regrets with wish?
Try “Rewind”: a student tells a small disaster in three past sentences (I left my umbrella at home. It rained. I got soaked.), and classmates answer with regrets: If only you hadn't left it! I bet you wish you'd checked the weather. In If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai, a wheel ends the speaking chapter with prompts like Tell us about something you wish you had kept.
What's good homework for wish + past perfect?
Good homework sorts wishes about now from regrets about the past before students choose a form, then gives them regrets to build from the words in brackets. All ten homework tasks in If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai check themselves, ending with Leona's newsletter answer to Bud and Maureen's talk about Superman with words to drag in.
How do you practice wish + past perfect one-to-one?
Swap three small regrets from last week, then ask follow-up questions: Do you wish you'd said no? What would you do differently? The student answers with I wish I had… or If only I hadn't… The chat in If only they'd kept Superman on edio.ai works without a partner: Mack helps the student plan a talk on how Superman went global, and one reply is a regret of the student's own.
Are there interactive exercises for wish + past perfect?
Yes. This page plays three parts of If only they'd kept Superman, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: Leona's visit to Mack's comic shop, Mack's shop blog with regrets to drag into gaps and a chat to plan a talk with Mack. The other parts need an account.
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