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Modals · CEFR B2 · Confident

should have — the regret — English modal verbs

Looking back at something that did not happen and saying it was the right thing to do. Its negative criticises what did happen.

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Try should have — the regret

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Rebuild this lesson’s reference sentence. Other tasks can have other valid word orders.

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See the reference sentence

I should have gone earlier.

should have / ought to have + third form

Read the examples as text

I should have gone earlier.
After "have" the verb takes its third form — gone, not went.

The shape

should have / ought to have + third form

Say what you wish you had done.

In Hindi

पीछे मुड़कर यह कहना कि जो नहीं किया, वही ठीक था। इसका नकार जो किया उस पर टिप्पणी करता है।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly said	Correct English
I should have went earlier.	I should have gone earlier. After "have" the verb takes its third form — gone, not went.

Commonly said

Correct English

I should have went earlier.

I should have gone earlier.

After "have" the verb takes its third form — gone, not went.

Learn these first

These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.

Easy to confuse with

Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.

Questions people ask

How do I use should have — the regret?: Looking back at something that did not happen and saying it was the right thing to do. Its negative criticises what did happen. In practice: say what you wish you had done.
What is the pattern for should have — the regret?: should have / ought to have + third form.
Which mistake should I avoid with should have — the regret?: Saying “I should have went earlier.” instead of “I should have gone earlier.”. After "have" the verb takes its third form — gone, not went.

Where should have — the regret fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

should have — the regret is a CEFR B2 structure — the confident band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

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