Should have

Question

A: If the flight was on time, he should have arrived in Jakarta early this morning.(Meaning I expect him to be in Jakarta this morning)
B: The builders should have finished by the end of the week.(Meaning I expect the builders to finish by the end of the week)

I have got two questions with the use of 'should have' in this way,
1: Are the sentences correct with 'should have' in the sentences above?
2: Is the use of 'should have' in this way common in spoken specially in America? Because I have never heard and seen anybody using 'should have' in this way in America. I am confused. Please help.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

The sentences work and it is common to use should have in this way.
Although usually shortened to should've.

Wilpeter · Answer

1. A. is correct.
B. should be: “The builders should be finished by the end of the week.” (Should have implies completion has taken place.)

2. “Should have” is quite common in Canada, so is likely also in the USA. However, example B. is still incorrect as indicated. If the sentence had read, "The builders should have finished by the end of last week," the sentence would have been correct, but the meaning would be that they didn't but were supposed to finish.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymoustwo questions

1: Are the sentences correct with 'should have' in the sentences above? Yes, but you haven't got the meanings exactly right.
2: Is the use of 'should have' in this way common in spoken specially in America? Because I have never heard and seen anybody using 'should have' in this way in America. 'should have' is used, but not with the exact meaning you're postulating here for the second example.

A: If the flight was on time, he should have arrived in Jakarta early this morning.
Yes, you expect that he has already arrived in Jakarta, earlier in the day.

B: The builders should have finished by the end of the week.
Your interpretation is off on this one.
You are talking here about a week that has already passed, not the end of the week now in progress. In this sentence the builders were expected to finish by the end of some week in the past, but they did not finish by then.
A second interpretation has it that the builders probably finished by the end of that week in the past, but the speaker doesn't know if they really did. Still, it should be said that this interpretation is probably better expressed with "would (probably) have finished".

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

How does 'would probably have finished' work in the sentence? does 'would have' Show the meaning like in the sentence below?

Jack usually goest to his office at 8am. Now it's 8:30 am; he would have gone to his office. Does 'would have' in your sentence work the same as in this sentence?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousJack usually goes to his office at 8am. Now it's 8:30 am; he would have gone to his office. Does 'would have' in your sentence work the same as in this sentence?

That's not a good use of 'would have gone', so no, it's not the same as in my sentence. In your set-up, it's like this:

It's 8:30, so he'll be in his office now. OR It's 8:30, so he must be in his office now.

'would have' is about the past:

The time was 8:30, Wednesday, last week. Jack would have been in his office then because he always got to work at 8.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

but if 8am is his usual time to go to work, and it 830am now, can I say,'he would be in his office now.', right?

one more question,
How does 'would probably have finished' work in your sentence? Does it mean it was the usual time for builders to finish?

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymouscan I say,'he would be in his office now.', right?

You could probably get away with that. Yes. I think I'd use "will", but "would" works pretty well.

AnonymousHow does 'would probably have finished' work in your sentence?

I believe I already said that.

AnonymousDoes it mean it was the usual time for builders to finish?

I wasn't thinking in terms of a specific time on a clock. I was thinking of work over many days, and that the builders were contracted to finish on a certain day. Nevertheless, the basic idea of "would probably have finished" is the same either way.

CJ

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