Lesson 29 should have / should has / should of
Choose the correct answers:
- Michael __________(should have driven, should has driven, should of driven) more slowly yesterday. Now he has to pay a $120 fine for speeding.
- He __________ (shouldn’t have gotten, shouldn’t had gotten, shouldn’t of gotten) up so late.
- He __________ (could have left, could has left, could of left) home a bit earlier.
Explain:
should/could/might/may + have + past participle: a regret or blame for things that already happened in the past.
After the modal, “have” is correct, not “has” or “had”, regardless of the subject.
In conversations, “have” is often pronounced like “of”, so it may sound like “should of driven, shouldn’t of gotten”, or “could of left”. However, “have” is the correct word. Never use “of”.
- In Sentence #1, should + have + driven (past participle of the main verb “drive”) to show strong blame
- In Sentence #2, should + not + have + gotten (past participle of the main verb “get”) to show strong blame
- In Sentence #3, could + have + left (past participle of the main verb “leave”) to show mild blame
Review:
- When Michael arrived at the class, he __________ (should have explained, should had explained, should of explained) the reason for being late, but he did not.
- He __________ (shouldn’t has kept, shouldn’t of kept, shouldn’t have kept) quiet about his reason for being late.
- His classmates __________ (might have asked, might had asked, might of asked) him after class, but they had to rush to the next class.
Answers:
should have driven; shouldn’t have gotten; could have left
should have explained; shouldn’t have kept; might have asked
