If I had known they were vegetarians, I would have made a salad. Would have also forms the result clause of a past unreal conditional. I would have loaned you the money, but I didn’t have any. I would have called, but there was no phone service. Use this structure to show that you wanted to do something in the past, but you could not. Would have is a bit more difficult because it has two common structures. She could not have been on that flight because I just saw her at work.ĭefense lawyers often use could not have to argue for a client’s innocence.Ī popular compliment in English is, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” You can say this when you like the way somebody said something. Could not have means that something was impossible in the past. To form the negative with these modals, use not between could and have. I could have been somebody-instead of a bum.” Listen to Marlon Brando in the classic film “On the Waterfront.” Brando’s character, Terry Malloy, was once a promising young boxer. Could have been usually gets contracted to could’ve been or even coulda’ been. Native speakers often do not pronounce their past tense modals as clearly as Tiffany. The singer is thinking about past possibilities with her lost love. Listen to this song by 1980s teen pop star Tiffany. I could have gone directly to college, but I decided to travel for a year. Could have means that something was possible in the past, but it did not happen. We’ll look at each of them using examples from movies and popular songs. He should have told the truth about what he saw.Įach of these modals has a slightly different meaning. I would have gone to the party, but I was tired. She could have gone to any college she wanted to. Use have for all pronouns never use has or had to form a past modal. To form these past modals, use could, would, or should followed by have, followed by a past participle verb. Past modals tell what could have, would have, and should have happened. The simple past just tells what happened. These past tense modals are useful for expressing your present feelings about a past decision (or other action).Ĭould have, would have, and should have are sometimes called “modals of lost opportunities.” They work like a grammatical time machine. Today we will take a look at the modal verbs could have, would have and should have. From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
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