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Can someone explain to me how to use subordinate clauses with "if only"? There's nothing about that on the internet.

I could for sure say

1 If only you did it= which means he doesn't do that

What about

2 If only she made that cake before we meet him tomorrow= which means she won't do that cake before the meeting

Since there is nothing on the web about additional clauses with "if only" could you tell me how to handle that and if my examples make sense and if not why?

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  • The tenses are very confused in #2, but so are the ideas. "If only" means "Oh, I wish this were so, but instead the opposite is!" It isn't really useful for the future at all because there is no fixed reality yet to lament. Even "That movie comes out in December? If only it came out in November, I could see it on my birthday" is really "if only the release date currently fixed were different."
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Sep 5 at 16:22
  • The word only after if is just an optional intensifier. Whether it's included or not makes no difference to the underlying syntax - nor does it change the meaning (apart from potentially adding emphasis). At the literal level, it's simply making the point that no other "conditions" need to be met.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 5 at 17:30

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We use if only to indicate that we very much wish that something had happened or will happen in the future, especially to avoid a problem.

If only I had warned him of the danger, he might not have had that accident.

If only you would get your hair cut, you would look much smarter.

If only she had time to make a cake before we meet him tomorrow... (I'll leave you to finish that one.)

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  • If only she had time to make a cake before we meet him tomorrow so I will have a surprise for him. Possible?
    – Bob Bob
    Commented Sep 5 at 17:04
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    @BobBob That works, though since it's a hypothetical reality it would be more likely to be "... so I would have a surprise" or similar word (could, might, etc.).
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Sep 5 at 17:22
  • Better still "If only she had time to make a cake... I would have something nice to give him" (but she doesn't have time so I won't have anything). The usual implication is that you very much wish it because the alternative is undesirable. My second example means that the speaker expects the scruffy person to refuse to get a haircut.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Sep 5 at 17:50
  • @KateBunting yep you are right, thanks. My original example "if only she made a cake....... " and so one is possible as well?
    – Bob Bob
    Commented Sep 5 at 18:00
  • It's more natural to say "If only she had made a cake..." (regret for the past) or "If only she would make a cake..." (wish for the future).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Sep 6 at 7:53

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