Do you know how to express regrets in English? I'll explain it in just a moment. Hi, my name is Alisha and this is 3-Step English by EnglishClass101.com. In this lesson, you'll learn how to express regrets through a quick conversation. Let's look at the sentence pattern. This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. Subject, should have, past participle.
"Should have" helps us talk about missed chances or decisions we regret. Notice that it has to be followed by the past participle form of the verb. This is important because the past participle indicates the action took place or should have taken place in the past. Let's see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. "We should have called and made a reservation."
In this sentence, we is the subject. Called and made are the past participle forms. Should have can also be contracted to should've. You can only do this with the modal should have phrase. In other uses, like you should have three apples left, you cannot use the contraction. Now, let's look at some speaking examples. We should have met up a bit later. Can you see how the pattern applies here?
We is the subject, followed by should have. Then, met up is the past participle. A bit later provides context on the time. Let's look at another. I should have taken my books back yesterday. I should have taken my books back yesterday. Let's try one more. You should have made a reservation. You should have made a reservation. Another one.
They should have turned off the air conditioner. They should have turned off the air conditioner. One last example. We should have ordered another pizza. We should have ordered another pizza. Let's review. Using the sentence pattern we learned, do you know how the words should be ordered? Gracie. Gracie should. Gracie should have.
Gracie should have gotten a... Gracie should have gotten a smaller... Gracie should have gotten a smaller table. Gracie should have gotten a smaller table. Let's review. Using the sentence pattern we learned, do you know how the words should be ordered?
They should have turned off the air.
They should have turned off the air conditioner. They should have turned off the air conditioner. Thank you for watching. Now you know how to express regrets in English. And now you can move on to the practice.