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Johnson13 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
it should have been prussia but not germany
context: A teacher asks me a question about European history, and I give a reply: at that time, Germany was XYZXYZ, no, it should be Prussia....
In this situation, when we use SHOULD meaning OUGHT TO, to refer to a past thing, we should use SHOULD + present perfect; so should I say in the above situation IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRUSSIA?(it sounds strange to me...
In this situation, when we use SHOULD meaning OUGHT TO, to refer to a past thing, we should use SHOULD + present perfect; so should I say in the above situation IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRUSSIA?(it sounds strange to me...
Top answer
(it sounds strange to me. Not strange, and either answer will serve: 'should be' for the fact and 'should have been' for the reply.
- (it sounds strange to me.
- Not strange, and either answer will serve: 'should be' for the fact and 'should have been' for the reply.
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11 Answers
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Johnson13In this situation, when we use SHOULD meaning OUGHT TO, to refer to a past thing, we should use SHOULD + present perfect; so should I say in the above situation IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRUSSIA?(it sounds strange to me.Not strange, and either answer will serve: 'should be' for the fact and 'should have been' for the reply.
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Thanks.
But now I come across a problem because I don't know how to apply your excellent answer to this situation:
When I was in senior secondary, the most interesting lesson should be/ should have been the maths lesson.
Could you help me out?
But now I come across a problem because I don't know how to apply your excellent answer to this situation:
When I was in senior secondary, the most interesting lesson should be/ should have been the maths lesson.
Could you help me out?
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Johnson13When I was in senior secondary, the most interesting lesson should be/ should have been the maths lesson.Is there any possibility of it still being the most interesting lesson?
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It's difficult to tell. Now the real situation is, I am at university, and, major or minor, we don't have maths; and... do you mean whether I would find the lesson interesting if I were at senior secondary again?
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Thanks.
Do you think this sentence is natural?:
Before one can speak a language, one should have had an identity
In this case, SHOULD does not mean OUGHT TO, but a guess, so it's confusing....
Do you think this sentence is natural?:
Before one can speak a language, one should have had an identity
In this case, SHOULD does not mean OUGHT TO, but a guess, so it's confusing....
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Before one can speak a language, one should have ( = ought to have) an identity.
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Thanks.
But is there any way I can change the sentence to convey the meaning that 'I guess at that time they will have XYZ'?
But is there any way I can change the sentence to convey the meaning that 'I guess at that time they will have XYZ'?
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Johnson13But is there any way I can change the sentence to convey the meaning that 'I guess at that time they will have XYZ'?The semantics of the sentence must indicate a completed earlier act to make it a reasonable choice, I think:
Before one can speak a language, one should have studied long and hard.
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Thanks.
If we say
I did it before he did it.
we can change the first DID to HAD DONE, which is the tense mainly used to refer a past event that happened before another past event, and it need not be changed, because BEFORE has indicated the time clearly enough.
In the OALD, there is an explanation:
used to s
If we say
I did it before he did it.
we can change the first DID to HAD DONE, which is the tense mainly used to refer a past event that happened before another past event, and it need not be changed, because BEFORE has indicated the time clearly enough.
In the OALD, there is an explanation:
used to s
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