Should Have VS Could Have

Hi, I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. Could have, should have. Should have, could have. Which one should I use? Let’s talk about it. Today, we’re going to talk about two verbs that a lot of English learners have questions about. These verbs, could have and should have, will help you to speak advanced English, will help you to understand fast English conversations and will help you to just sound more natural. Let’s start by talking about should have.

Let’s imagine that your boss comes up to you and he says, “Hey. We have a special opportunity in London next week for business. I want you to go. Can you go to London next week on a business trip?” You smile at your boss and you say, “Sure, I’ll go.” In your mind, you’re thinking, oh no. Oh no. I– studied English more. What should we fill in in this sentence?

I should have studied English more. I don’t have anymore time. I have to go on this trip, and I’m not going to be able to communicate. I should have studied more. I want to give you a scenario, so that you can fill in a sentence by yourself before we talk about the grammar.

I think that really working through it in your mind yourself is going to help this concept stick with you, instead of me just giving you the rule right away. Okay, so let’s imagine the scenario of you having the opportunity to go to New York. You decide to go to New York, but it’s February.

February in New York is really cold, and we have some more bad news. You forgot to bring your winter coat. What were you thinking? How can you create a sentence using should have to talk about this situation? You’re in New York, it’s freezing cold. It’s February, and you don’t have a coat. I should have something. Think about that for just a moment. How can you finish that sentence?

I should have . You might say, “I should have brought a coat. I should have thought about this earlier. I should have planned better.” This is something that is negative. It’s a regret, and that’s how we use should have. We use it to talk about something that you regret, something that’s negative.

When you’re talking about this negative thing, this disappointment, this regret, you can use the word should have. If you would like to sound like a native speaker, you shouldn’t say, “I should have brought my coat.” Instead, you can shorten should have in two different ways. The first one is to say, “I shoulda brought my coat. I shoulda brought my coat.” If you use shoulda, or if you use the second shortened version, you need to say it pretty quickly.

You don’t want to really slow down too much, I shoulda brought my coat. The reason why we reduce words is to speed up our language. I want to make sure that you use this correctly. Make sure you say, “I shoulda brought my coat.” You could also say, “I should’ve brought my coat.” This is a contraction.

You might see this sometimes written in really casual situations. In general, shoulda and should have are only spoken. I should have brought my coat. I shoulda brought my coat. I hope that you can say those sentences fast, and use this for something that’s a regret, a disappointment. I shoulda studied English.

I should have brought my coat. Now, let’s talk about could have. Before I explain it, I want you to try to make a sentence with it yourself like before. Let’s imagine that you’re in New York City. You have the option to go to the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. Let’s say you choose the Empire State Building.

It’s an iconic experience, great view of the city, so you have chosen to go to the Empire State Building. How can you create a sentence using could have to talk about the option that you didn’t choose? You didn’t choose the Statue of Liberty, so how can you craft a sentence using could have?

Think about that for just a moment. You could have said, could have, I just used it, you could have said, “I could have gone to the Statue of Liberty, but I didn’t.” This situation is just a choice. It’s not a regret.

It’s just a choice. It’s the thing I didn’t do. I could have gone to the Statue of Liberty but instead, I went to the Empire State Building. You’re not really expressing regret or disappointment, something negative. You’re just showing that this is the thing I didn’t do. I could have gone to the Statue of Liberty, but I decided not to. Like with should have, you can really reduce could have in the same way.

I coulda gone to the Statue of Liberty. I could’ve gone to the Statue of Liberty. These are great in spoken English. I don’t really recommend writing them unless you’re writing something really casual. You can write it in the comments if you want to practice it. Make sure that you shorten your sentences with these reductions in casual conversation.

Before we go, let’s take a look at two sentences, one using a shoulda and one using coulda right here. Let’s talk about that verb that follows these two expressions. What is it? Is it past tense, present tense, another tense?

This is the past participle. I shoulda studied English earlier. Studied looks like the past tense, but really this is the past participle. You need to make sure that you follow these two expressions with the past participle. I coulda slept but instead, I studied English. I coulda slept, I coulda gone to the store.

Gone is that past participle. I coulda taken out the trash, but I decided not to. Before we go, let’s say these two sentences out loud. I challenge you to read them out loud with me to use your speaking muscles. The first one is, I shoulda studied English earlier. Can you say it fast with me? I shoulda studied English earlier.

I shoulda studied English earlier. Your face probably looks a little disappointed, because you’re expressing regret. Make sure that you’re not smiling, oh I shoulda studied English earlier. Instead, you’re a little serious, I shoulda studied English earlier. In the second sentence, I coulda slept but instead, I studied English. Can you say that with me? I coulda slept but instead, I studied English.

That’s what you’re doing now. You prioritized English, I coulda slept. Can you say that fast? I coulda slept but instead, I studied English. I coulda slept but instead, I studied English. Thanks so much for learning should have and could have with me.