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Viceidol Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

I shouldn't have thought/shouldn't think that it...

0Hi, I have a doubt about 01b00"I should think..."02b00 and 01b00"I should have thought...".02b00 I have asked a similar question in an earlier post. Although I have a clue what it is all about, I'm not completely sure about this. Anyway, please take a look at the following sentences first:02br
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00"He doesn't know English at all and is looking for a job." "01b01font00I shouldn't think 02font02b00that he'd find it easy to get work." (Does it refer to 01b00"the present"02b00 like "01font01b00I don't think02b02font00 he'd find it easy to get work."?)02br
02br
00"He actually passed the exam." "I 01b01font00shouldn't have thought02font02b00 it was possible to do that." (Does it refer to01b00 "the past"02b00 like "01font01b00I didn't think02b02font00 it was possible to do that."?)02br
02br
00Please help me solve my doubt. Thanks again!02br
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3 Answers
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0 .02br
00I agree that they refer to present and past thinking, respectively.0-
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0Thank you for your answer!0-
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0Note that these uses of 01i00should02i00 are not as common in the U.S. In AmE we are very likely to substitute 01i00would02i00 or to leave out the modal completely and use paraphrases like those that you gave above.02br
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