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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Use of 'should have'
In a science class, the teacher gives the students the necessary apparatus and materials needed to carry out an experiment on density.
However, he does not specify exactly what the students need to do as the students are required to think for themselves and come up with a simple activity or experiment using a stone and a match-box.
After the students have completed their work in groups, the teacher does some explaining. Is it wrong if he says:
Class, first you should have filled the two cylinders with water and ........ . Then you should have measured the...... after which you should have calculated the density ....... etc.
By using the words'should have', is the teacher saying that all the students have not carried out the expt. correctly?
Can these words be used if all the students conducted the expt.correctly but the teacher had not been able to observe all of them due to class size and time constraints?
What other meanings can be attributed in this context? Is it better or more accurate to use: should? Some teachers argue that we should use: would have. Which is correct?
Thank you.
Sathia
However, he does not specify exactly what the students need to do as the students are required to think for themselves and come up with a simple activity or experiment using a stone and a match-box.
After the students have completed their work in groups, the teacher does some explaining. Is it wrong if he says:
Class, first you should have filled the two cylinders with water and ........ . Then you should have measured the...... after which you should have calculated the density ....... etc.
By using the words'should have', is the teacher saying that all the students have not carried out the expt. correctly?
Can these words be used if all the students conducted the expt.correctly but the teacher had not been able to observe all of them due to class size and time constraints?
What other meanings can be attributed in this context? Is it better or more accurate to use: should? Some teachers argue that we should use: would have. Which is correct?
Thank you.
Sathia
Top answer
'Should have' is a good choice in this context; it carries no judgement on whether some, all, or none of the students did the excercise correctly. 'Would have' assumes that all did it correctly.
- 'Should have' is a good choice in this context; it carries no judgement on whether some, all, or none of the students did the excercise correctly.
- 'Would have' assumes that all did it correctly.
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4 Answers
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'Should have' is a good choice in this context; it carries no judgement on whether some, all, or none of the students did the excercise correctly.
'Would have' assumes that all did it correctly.
'Would have' assumes that all did it correctly.
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Hi Sathia,
After the students have completed their work in groups, the teacher does some explaining. Is it wrong if he says:
Class, first you should have filled the two cylinders with water and ........ . Then you should have measured the...... after which you should have calculated the density ....... etc.
After the students have completed their work in groups, the teacher does some explaining. Is it wrong if he says:
Class, first you should have filled the two cylinders with water and ........ . Then you should have measured the...... after which you should have calculated the density ....... etc.
00
I agree with the previous responses. should is better than would in the context you describe.
You should have filled the cylinders ... can easily mean, and often does:
It [was expected / to be expected] that you [would fill / would have filled] the cylinders ...
This meaning is appropriate whether one, some, or all of the students did actu
You should have filled the cylinders ... can easily mean, and often does:
It [was expected / to be expected] that you [would fill / would have filled] the cylinders ...
This meaning is appropriate whether one, some, or all of the students did actu
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Thank you. I too feel the same way. I was surprised when I was 'corrected' by some senior teachers and told that 'should have' is incorrect in that context. I wonder if it is due to cultural and mother tongue interference. The teachers are second language learners and the Malay language is the mother tongue.
Sathia
Sathia
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