Modals · CEFR C1 · Fluent
should have been done — English modal verbs
The longest chain English builds out of a modal, and the standard way to raise a problem at work without naming anybody.
The shape
should / could / must + have been + third form
Say what ought to have been done, and was not.
In Hindi
modal से बनने वाली सबसे लंबी कड़ी। काम पर किसी का नाम लिए बिना बात उठाने का यही तरीक़ा है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
This should have avoided. | This could have been avoided. A passive needs "been" between "have" and the third form. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
- should have — the regretB2Say what you wish you had done
- should be doneB2Say what has to be done without saying who does it
Questions people ask
- What is the should have been done used for?
- The longest chain English builds out of a modal, and the standard way to raise a problem at work without naming anybody. In practice: say what ought to have been done, and was not.
- How do you form the should have been done?
- should / could / must + have been + third form.
- What is the most common mistake with the should have been done?
- Saying “This should have avoided.” instead of “This could have been avoided.”. A passive needs "been" between "have" and the third form.
Where should have been done fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
should have been done is a CEFR C1 structure — the fluent band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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