In Unit 10, Brain Drain, migrants and their families often look back on choices about leaving or staying in their home country. This lesson presents the main expressions used in English to express regret about past actions, decisions and missed opportunities.
Key Structures for Expressing Regret
| Structure | Example |
|---|---|
| I wish + subject + past perfect | I wish I hadn’t left my country so young. |
| If only + subject + past perfect | If only I had studied harder, I could have found a job at home. |
| I regret + gerund / that-clause | I regret leaving my family behind. / I regret that I didn’t stay. |
| should have / shouldn’t have + past participle | I should have applied for that scholarship. / I shouldn’t have emigrated without a job offer. |
| Looking back, + subject + should have… | Looking back, I should have thought more carefully before emigrating. |
| It’s a pity / shame that + past simple | It’s a pity that so many skilled workers leave the country every year. |
Usage Notes
- I wish / If only + past perfect express a wish that something in the past had been different; if only is more emotional and emphatic than I wish.
- should have / shouldn’t have are used to criticise a past action or say that a different action would have been wiser.
- regret + gerund is more formal and often used when explaining a decision, as in official letters or reports.
- It’s a pity/shame that is commonly used to comment on a general situation rather than a personal action.
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1 — Rewrite using ‘I wish’: He didn’t take the job offer abroad.
Exercise 2 — Complete with the correct form: If only I ______ (know) about the scholarship earlier, I would have applied.
Exercise 3 — Choose the correct verb form: It’s a pity that so many doctors (leave / left) the country each year.
Exercise 4 — Transform into a ‘should have’ sentence: It was a mistake not to learn English before emigrating.
Exercise 5 — Use ‘regret’ to express a migrant’s feeling about leaving without saying goodbye to his friends.
Exercise 6 — Write two sentences expressing regret about the effects of brain drain on your country, using two different structures from this lesson.
Answer Key
Answer 1 — I wish he had taken the job offer abroad.
Answer 2 — had known
Answer 3 — leave
Answer 4 — I should have learned English before emigrating.
Answer 5 — He regrets leaving without saying goodbye to his friends. / He regrets that he didn’t say goodbye to his friends.
Answer 6 — Example: If only our best engineers had stayed, our industries would be more advanced today. / It’s a pity that so many young graduates emigrate instead of building careers at home.
