Meaning & use
should have
Used to say that something was the right or expected action in the past, but it did not happen.
See it in a sentence
I should have brought an umbrella; the forecast clearly predicted heavy rain today.
They should have left earlier if they wanted to beat the rush hour traffic.
A note on using this word
In fast speech, should have is often contracted to 'should've,' which is sometimes mistakenly written as 'should of.'
Words with a similar meaning
ought to have
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Make it your own
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