Friday Focus: Should've, Could've, Would've

With a BONUS AI Fluency Booster!

You’ve spent this week mastering the formal rules of English grammar, particularly the conditionals, but now it’s time for the secret to sounding truly fluent: learning the native shortcuts!

When we talk about regrets, missed chances, or assumptions in the past, we rarely use formal “If” clauses.

Instead, we rely heavily on a fluent shortcut known as the Modal Perfect.

Understanding and using the spoken forms of these three phrases—should have, could have, and would have—will immediately transform your English from correct to native-sounding. They are central to how we talk about our past decisions, especially big ones like moving abroad!