Usage of "should have been"

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

Could you please tell me what dose “should have been” mean in this sentence?

“I am sitting here without promotion, a promotion that should have been mine.”

Please explain.

2

Hi Crazy

I interpret that sentence to mean that there was a job opening at the speaker’s company in the (recent) past, and that the speaker expected to be promoted to this better position. However, someone else got the job/promotion. The speaker was not promoted, and he/she thinks this was not correct/justified.
.

3

Hi Yankee,

Thank you very much for replying. I think I have understood it almost 100%. Can you please give me any other example sentence using “should have been”? It would be of great help.

Thanks once again.

4

Hi Crazy

There are a number of different ways to use ‘should have been’ or ‘should have done’ (i.e. should have + past participle).

For example:

If you attended a really great party but your friend did not, and you think that your friend would have enjoyed it as much as you did, you might say this:

  • You should have been there. You would have had a wonderful time!

If someone did not do something that they were obliged or expected to do (apologize or call, for example), you might say this:

  • You should have apologized for doing that.
  • You should have called ahead of time to let them know you were coming!

If something was expected to happen, but didn’t, you might hear something like this:

  • He should have been here hours ago. I wonder where he is.

You will sometimes hear ‘should have been/done’ used to express what you expect this way:

  • MrX: OK, we have finished doing A, B, C, D and F.
  • MrY: Great! That should have solved our production problems for good.
    (i.e. MrY now expects that the production problems have been solved.)

You may also hear ‘should have been/done’ used when you expect a confirmation that something had a particular outcome in the past. This usage would be similar to ‘must have been/done’ (this usage might not exist in BE, however.)

For an interesting discussion of ‘should have been’, have a look here:
englishpage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9933
.

5

Hi Yankee,

Thank you very very much for replying. What a reply! I love the way you explained it to me. It is really excellent, simple and detailed. I am really grateful to you.

Thanks once again for taking time to help me.

Best wishes :smiley: