Maltalingua School of English Blog

Difficulty

This week, we are taking a look at “should have” clauses:

Criticisms and regrets

We use “should have” + past participle to speak about past situations for criticisms and regrets:

She should have resigned earlier.      (criticism)

His speech was a disaster. He shouldn’t have bothered coming.                  (criticism)

I should have started studying for my exams in January!      (regret)

We shouldn’t have taken this road.    (regret)

Spoken English

In spoken English, we normally use “should’ve” instead of the full “should have”.

I should’ve stayed at home.

He should’ve bought that car.

Now try to unscramble these sentences (remember to write the sentences exactly as you see them – the quiz is cap sensitive 🙂 ):

[watupro 3]