tungemål wrote:Grammar: "should have"
gratuitous grammar lesson.
The Dutch use this construction for "should have done something": hadden moeten (infinitiv)
examples:
- Ik had dat niet moeten zeggen - I shouldn't have said that
- je had het vaccin moeten nemen - you should've taken the vaccine
- ik had moeten weten dat... - I should've known that...
A worthy lesson. I can't tell you how much I broke my head trying to figure out differences equating to should/ought to. It was enough bother to me knowing that in English
should doesn't express the same level of obligation as
ought to. However realising the fact that
would/should are often the same thing:
zouden, and that this also encompassed
ought to (when not aiming directly for must) and still getting all the meaning across, was actually a relief.
Also realising that in Germanic languages these modal auxiliaries have in most cases replaced the need for a specially-formed subjunctive mood, made me appreciate them more.