Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

Veravera · Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 53

Dear teachers,

1. You might have told me that my boss was at the dinner party.
2. You could have told me that my boss was at the dinner party.
3. You should have told me that my boss was at the dinner party.

Do they mean the same thing?
I think they all mean 'should', right?
If not. What are the differences between them?
Thanks!

iitimone7 · Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 400 Location: Indiana, USA

veravera - they all mean similar things and can probably be used interchangeably. here are the exact meanings...

might = past tense verb of may...to express a wish or desire

could = past tense or can...to be able to accomplish

should = past tense of shall...will have to; will be able to

does that help? iitimone7

redset · Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 582 Location: England

Yeah, they all basically mean should - the difference is really how strong they sound. 'You should have told me' is saying 'it was wrong of you not to tell me'; 'you could have told me' means something like 'you didn't tell me, even though you knew I'd want you to'; 'you might have told me' is a little softer and means something like 'it would have been good if you'd told me'. There aren't any hard and fast rules and some of the differences are subtle, particularly between 'you could' and 'you might' ('you could have' sounds a little more like an accusation, 'you might have' is more polite). Sometimes the nuances are important though, if you don't want to offend someone!