I would have gone to the party, but I was really busy. To talk about something you wanted to do but didn’t Would have is a bit more difficult because it has two common structures. We use should have to talk about past mistakes. You ought to have spent more time with your family. You should have gone there straight away. When giving advice or suggesting what seemed to be the best solution in a given situation in the past (but probably did not happen), we use “should have” or “ought to have”: It’s like giving advice about the past when you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn’t do when you’re talking about yourself. Mean something that would have been a good idea, but that you didn’t do it. SHOULD / OUGHT TO + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE He couldn’t have done it Impossible that he did it. COULDN’T HAVE vs CAN’T HAVEĬan be used interchangeably – but can’t is stronger, like impossible. In turn, the verb “can’t” used in the present tense means that a situation is impossible.Ĭan’t have, correspondingly, means that a situation could not have happened in the past: When we expressed certainty about an event or state, in the past we use “must have”: When something certainly happened (certainty) He couldn’t have gone to the shopping centre. Whereas negative form “couldn’t have” is used to talk about something that couldn’t have happened and something impossible. I could have gone to the cinema, but I decided to stay home. The form “could have” is also used when talking about something that could have happened, but did not. When something could have happened but did not. I think/I suspect (probably) I lost my keys in the pubĢ. I think/I suspect (probably)I lost my keys in the pub To make an assumption about the past, we also use “could have” form. To make an assumption/guess about the past.Ĭould have and might have can be interchangeable and mean the same thing I think/I suspect (probably) they had never met beforeĬOULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE 1. I think/I suspect (probably) I lost it somewhere I think/I suspect (probably) I was shopping at that time

Past modal verbs exercises advanced