0
Norwolf Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Should have/ would
Here comes a question:
1: Did you go to Lucy's birthday party last night?
2: No, I ____ , but I had to prepare for the exam.
A would B did have C might D should have
To my ear, both A and D sound great.
What do you natives think, please?
Thank you very much.
1: Did you go to Lucy's birthday party last night?
2: No, I ____ , but I had to prepare for the exam.
A would B did have C might D should have
To my ear, both A and D sound great.
What do you natives think, please?
Thank you very much.
Top answer
Both 'should have' and 'would have' are possible, depending on the speaker's perspective.
- Both 'should have' and 'would have' are possible, depending on the speaker's perspective.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
9 Answers
0
Both 'should have' and 'would have' are possible, depending on the speaker's perspective.
00
0
0
To my ear, saying "I would" corresponds to something like "I would have gone to it." I guess it is not necessary to say "I would have" or "should have".
00
..."I would" corresponds to something like "I would have gone to it.
Then why would English have two different verb forms, if instead of 'would have gone' we could just use 'would' every time?
Let me ask you: is the party over, or is the party still
Then why would English have two different verb forms, if instead of 'would have gone' we could just use 'would' every time?
Let me ask you: is the party over, or is the party still
00
Of course, it is over. "I should have" or "I would have" indicates "I didn't go to it". Dear Terryxpress, you mean "I would" can't make it clear whether "I did go to it", which suggests only "my will".
What I want to know is whether the "have" sounds excrescent because the following sentence tells us the result.
What I want to know is whether the "have" sounds excrescent because the following sentence tells us the result.
00
norwolf2: No, I ____ , but I had to prepare for the exam.Between the given choices, D is the only correct answer based on semantics. It expresses "desire" which was overruled by importance.
If the question were: Would you have gone go the the party if you didn't have to prepare for the exam? Then, yes, " I would" is correct.
00
norwolf-I would (Choice A) is wrong because it answers the wrong question!
1: Did you go to Lucy's birthday party last night?
2: No, I ____ , but I had to prepare for the exam.
A would B did have C might D should have
To my ear, both A and D sound great.
Will you go to Lucy's party tomorrow night?
00
QED
If the party is over, then the verb form/tense needs to match that.
But how can you use the hypothetical "I would go" about a past TRUE fact? (There was a party, and you didn't go - FACT)
The reasoning I was hoping you would get to without hand-feeding. I wouldn't have asked you whether the party was over or not, without hoping this might direct your atten
If the party is over, then the verb form/tense needs to match that.
But how can you use the hypothetical "I would go" about a past TRUE fact? (There was a party, and you didn't go - FACT)
The reasoning I was hoping you would get to without hand-feeding. I wouldn't have asked you whether the party was over or not, without hoping this might direct your atten
0
Related Questions