～ばよかった (〜ba yokatta)
Explanation
Express a sense of regret; 'I wish', 'it would have been better if'.
Formation
Verb-ば-form + よかった, い-Adjective-く + ばよかった, な-Adjective + ならよかった
Detailed Explanation
The ～ばよかった grammar point is used to express a sense of regret or to convey that one wishes something had been done differently. It can be translated as 'I wish' or 'it would have been better if' in English. The formation differs depending on whether it is used with a verb, い-adjective, or な-adjective.
Examples
もっと早く起きればよかった。
Motto hayaku okireba yokatta.
I wish I had woken up earlier.
昨日のパーティーに行けばよかった。
Kinou no paatii ni ikeba yokatta.
I wish I had gone to yesterday's party.
もっと安いものを買えばよかった。
Motto yasui mono wo kaeba yokatta.
I wish I had bought something cheaper.
あの時、もっと勉強すればよかった。
Ano toki, motto benkyou sureba yokatta.
I wish I had studied more at that time.
Grammar content sourced from hanabira.org.