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Tenjing Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
should've
I am trying to use 'should've' with the meaning of 'expectation'. Are these sentences correct?
A. He should have reached ten minutes ago; I am going to Call him.
b. They should have been finished with appetizers; I am going to put dinner plates.
c. He should have been waiting for me while I was taking a shower.
All three sentences mean expectations not 'advice'. Are they correct with the meaning of ' expectation'??
A. He should have reached ten minutes ago; I am going to Call him.
b. They should have been finished with appetizers; I am going to put dinner plates.
c. He should have been waiting for me while I was taking a shower.
All three sentences mean expectations not 'advice'. Are they correct with the meaning of ' expectation'??
Top answer
A. He should have arrived ten minutes ago; I am going to call him. B.
- A.
- He should have arrived ten minutes ago; I am going to call him.
- B.
- They should have finished the appetizers / should be finished with the appetizers; I am going to put out the dinner plates.
- C.
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30 Answers
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A. He should have arrived ten minutes ago; I am going to call him.
B. They should have finished the appetizers / should be finished with the appetizers; I am going to put out the dinner plates.
C. He should have been waiting for me while I was taking a shower.
(C) is grammatical but seems slightly unusual. I'm wondering whether "He should
B. They should have finished the appetizers / should be finished with the appetizers; I am going to put out the dinner plates.
C. He should have been waiting for me while I was taking a shower.
(C) is grammatical but seems slightly unusual. I'm wondering whether "He should
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Thank you so much, GPY. Actually, 'c' is not what you are trying to mean, I am trying to use should've+present participle to show 'expectation' not 'advice'. If 'c' is not correct with the meaning, expectation, could you show me some sentences with 'should've + present participle' to show expectations? Please.
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tenjingcould you show me some sentences with 'should've + present participle' to show expectations?"should have + present participle" is not grammatical (in a relevant sense). I guess you mean "should have been + present participle", yes?
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tenjingI am trying to use should've+been + present participle to show 'expectation' not 'advice'.This structure is not very common, so it's not easy to find examples, and it's hard to find a short story that goes with them. You often need a lot of sentences to set up the situation so that the should have been (sh
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One boss tells his employee,"why are you not wearing a cap? You should have been wearing the cap". Here, should is used as an advice, right?
Jim don't know the guy who he is going to meet. Jim tells James over the phone,"I didn't see him, what does he look like?, he should be wearing a red cap." Here, should has been used as a expectation, right? ?
Jim don't know the guy who he is going to meet. Jim tells James over the phone,"I didn't see him, what does he look like?, he should be wearing a red cap." Here, should has been used as a expectation, right? ?
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tenjingOne boss tells his employee,"why are you not wearing a cap? You should have been wearing the cap". Here, should is used as an advice, right?Yes. There was an obligation imposed upon the employee to wear a cap, and he was not fulfilling his obligation. Note that we must sometimes take "advice" a little loosely. This isn't really a case where the boss
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tenjingOne boss tells his employee,"why are you not wearing a cap? You should have been wearing the cap". Here, should is used as an advice, right?Roughly speaking yes, but I don't think that "advice" is really the right word. It is more explaining an obligation or requirement.
To make the two parts match it should be: "Why are you not wearing a
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As you know we can change the present sentence directly into the past. For eg.
A. I know what you are trying to say. INTO I knew what you were trying to say.
I am going to use the same process with 'should've'. For examples,
A. He isn't picking up the phone, he should be busy working with the project at present.
a. He wasn't picking up the phone. He should've been busy wo
A. I know what you are trying to say. INTO I knew what you were trying to say.
I am going to use the same process with 'should've'. For examples,
A. He isn't picking up the phone, he should be busy working with the project at present.
a. He wasn't picking up the phone. He should've been busy wo
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tenjingI am going to use the same process with 'should've'.Good luck! Things get tricky with the modal verbs (like should).
tenjingA. He isn't picking up the phone. He should be busy working with the project at present.It's quite possible to see this as He had an obligation to
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I agree with everything CJ has commented.on. Generally speaking, the " should have + past participle " construction carries an implied "assumption", just as you had it in your #1 sentence; not expectation. However, there is a difference. If you were at the airport yesterday at noon getting on a flying to Shanghai, I may say today:" Tenjing should have arrived by now ". I am not sur
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