Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

"Whether or not a war should have been fought can always be debated. The pro-war forces can always come up with a reason why a war should be waged; the anti-war forces are perfectly able to prove the oppoist."

1. As far as I know, "should have p.p." is used in the sentences like " I should have told the truth, but I told a lie" (about past events which did not happen). So I think "should have been fought" has to be replaced by " was supposed to be fought". What's your opinion?

[CP]

I would say that you can substitute "ought to have been fought" for "should have been fought" in this sentence without losing anything.

If you want to use "supposed," then the substitute should be "was supposed to have been fought."
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