Hi,
You should have gone last week; there was a fabulous exhibition. Well, could I say “You should have been gone last week…”? Obviously the meaning would change. Guess I correctly?
Thanks.
You cannot use ‘been’ in that context.
If you say: You should have been gone last week, this could suggest that someone is indicating that you should not have been there last week and they are expressing surprise that you were still there. Is that what you meant, Francis?
Did you read the full original statement?
You should have been gone last week; there was a fabulous exhibition
cannot be considered correct, even if you change the tense of the second phrase and accept a change in meaning.
Clearly.
Hi Alan,
I didn’t meant what you wrote with that “You should have been gone last week” actually. It’s a little difficult for me to explain what I meant exactly, anyway I can say that if you literally translate the sentence from Italian to English that makes sense.
Thanks for your attention. Bye
Hi,
Can I say “You should have gone last week” and “You should have been going last week” interchangeably?
Thanks.
If ‘you should have gone…’ works, then stick to that.
‘You should have been going…’ sounds odd unless you are indicating a special reason for having gone regularly, over a period of time.
I think the Friday morning meetings are boring.
You should have been going to them last year, when the CEO chaired them. They were worthwhile in those days.
Good morning Bev,
Last question on this matter, at least for today. 
- You shouldn’t have been doing fifty in a built-up area.
- You shouldn’t have done fifty in a built-up area.
Can I use those sentences interchangeably?
I wish you a good day.
Yes, in that case both are possible. The first emphasises the action more.
‘Been gone’ is far less common than ‘been doing’ because of the meaning of the words.