Should have

  • B1 · Intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

should have / shouldn't have + past participle, for regrets and criticism: We should have booked a hotel. We shouldn't have left so late. From two friends looking back at a road trip that went wrong to reviewing a trip with your teacher.

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should haveshouldn't haveshould rest

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: the road trip we didn't planReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find should have and shouldn't haveGrammar exercise
  6. 6should have / shouldn't haveGrammar rule
  7. 7Did it happen?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Choose the right formGrammar exercise
  9. 9Kamran's dinner partyGrammar exercise
  10. 10Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  11. 11Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  12. 12Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  13. 13The trip reviewSpeaking practice
  14. 14About youGrammar exercise
  15. 15Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: what would you say?Grammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: which is right?Grammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the sentencesGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: what went wrongDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Have you ever been on a road trip? Where did you go?
  2. What do you like to do in the car on a long drive?
  3. When something goes wrong, do you laugh about it later?

Grammar rule

should have / shouldn't have

should have / shouldn't have + past participle

We look back at the past and say what was right or wrong: regrets (I, we) and criticism (you, he, she, they).

ExampleWhat really happened
PositiveI should have stretched before the game.I didn't stretch.
NegativeShe shouldn't have cut her own hair.She cut it.
QuestionShould I have called her? What should I have said?
  • Short answers: "Should I have called her?" "Yes, you should have." / "No, you shouldn't have."
  • When the verb is clear, stop after have: I know, I know. I should have.
  • "Oh, you shouldn't have!" = thank you for a present or a kind surprise.
  • should + verb is advice for now or later: You should rest. should have + past participle looks back: You should have rested.
should have says what was the right thing to do. The third conditional (lesson 29) says what would have happened: We should have left early. If we had left early, we would have arrived before dark.

Watch out

  • After have, the past participle: should have went → should have gone · should have took → should have taken.
  • In speech, should have sounds like "should-uv", but we write should have or should've, never should of.
  • Not should went or should had gone: should have + past participle. The negative is shouldn't have, not should haven't.

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← Unit 6The third conditional