Could Have, Should Have, Would Have
Could Have, Should Have, Would Have
Could Have, Should Have, Would Have
1: Could have + past participle means that something was possible in the
past, or you had the ability to do something in the past, but that you didn't do it.
(See also modals of ability.)
Couldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't possible in the
past, even if you had wanted to do it.
I couldn't have arrived any earlier. There was a terrible traffic jam (= it was
impossible for me to have arrived any earlier).
He couldn't have passed the exam, even if he had studied harder. It's a x
really, really difficult exam.
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We can also choose to use might have + past participle to mean the same
thing:
1: Should have + past participle can mean something that would have been
a good idea, but that you didn't do it. It's like giving advice about the past when
you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn't do when you're
talking about yourself.
Shouldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't a good idea,
but you did it anyway.
I should have studied harder! (= I didn't study very hard and so I failed the
exam. I'm sorry about this now.)
I should have gone to bed early (= I didn't go to bed early and now I'm
tired).
I shouldn't have eaten so much cake! (= I did eat a lot of cake and now I
don't feel good.) x
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You should have called me when you arrived (= you didn't call me and I x
was worried. I wish that you had called me).
John should have left early, then he wouldn't have missed the plane (= but
he didn't leave early and so he did miss the plane).
2: We can also use should have + past participle to talk about something
that, if everything is normal and okay, we think has already happened. But
we're not certain that everything is fine, so we use 'should have' and not the
present perfect or past simple. It's often used with 'by now'.
His plane should have arrived by now (= if everything is fine, the plane
has arrived).
John should have finished work by now (= if everything is normal, John
has finished work).
We can also use this to talk about something that would have happened if
everything was fine, but hasn't happened.
If I had had enough money, I would have bought a car (but I didn't have
enough money, so I didn't buy a car).
2: Because 'would' (and will) can also be used to show if you want to do
something or not (volition), we can also use would have + past participle to
talk about something you wanted to do but didn't. This is very similar to the
third conditional, but we don't need an 'if clause'.
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(= If I had known that you needed help, I would have helped you.)
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