Gap-fill
J’aurais dû: practise “should have” in a French regret story
Choose j’aurais dû, j’aurais pu or j’aurais aimé, then complete a short account of a missed meeting. Includes negative regrets and a translation.
- B1
- 8 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
J’aurais dû + infinitive means “I should have”: J’aurais dû vérifier l’heure. For a missed possibility, use j’aurais pu; for a missed wish, use j’aurais aimé.
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How do you say “should have” in French?
J’aurais dû prévenir Léa.I should have let Léa know.
Focus: You now judge warning her to have been the better choice.
avoir au conditionnel + dû + infinitif
Elle m’attendait. J’aurais dû la prévenir.
She was waiting for me. I should have let her know.
J’aurais pu prévenir Léa.I could have let Léa know.
Focus: You had an available opportunity to warn her.
avoir au conditionnel + pu + infinitif
J’avais son numéro. J’aurais pu la prévenir.
I had her number. I could have let her know.
J’aurais aimé revoir Léa.I would have liked to see Léa again.
Focus: You describe something you wanted to happen.
avoir au conditionnel + aimé + infinitif
Elle est repartie hier. J’aurais aimé la revoir.
She left yesterday. I would have liked to see her again.
| Subject | Should have |
|---|---|
| je | j’aurais dû |
| tu | tu aurais dû |
| il / elle / on | il / elle / on aurait dû |
| nous | nous aurions dû |
| vous | vous auriez dû |
| ils / elles | ils / elles auraient dû |
Keep the circumflex in dû. In these devoir + infinitive sentences, dû stays the same with every subject: Elles auraient dû répondre. The action stays in the infinitive: répondre, vérifier, prévenir.
How do you say “shouldn’t have” in French?
Je n’aurais pas dû répondre aussi vite.
I shouldn’t have replied so quickly.
Put ne… pas around aurais. The speaker sent a reply and now regrets the haste.
Tu aurais pu me prévenir !
You could have let me know!
Addressed to someone who kept you waiting, this can sound like a reproach.
Compare present advice, Tu devrais répondre (you should reply), with a past judgement, Tu aurais dû répondre (you should have replied). The second looks back at an opportunity that has passed in this context.
Complete the account of a missed meeting
Write each verb in the past conditional. The hints name the verb and, for one gap, the negative form. The people and the time clues tell you which auxiliary form belongs in each gap.
La réunion de mardi
Mardi, j’ai manqué notre réunion en ligne. J’avais noté dix heures, mais elle commençait à neuf heures. J’(devoir) vérifier l’invitation la veille. Nous (devoir) confirmer l’heure ensemble.
À neuf heures et demie, Léa m’a envoyé un message. J’(pouvoir) la rappeler tout de suite, mais j’ai attendu. J’(aimer) participer à la discussion. Les autres (pouvoir) m’envoyer un rappel, mais ils pensaient que j’étais occupé.
J’ai ensuite envoyé une réponse assez sèche. Je (devoir, négatif) écrire cela. Léa m’a dit : « Tu (devoir) nous prévenir dès que tu as vu ton erreur. » Elle avait raison. Nous (aimer) discuter tous ensemble. La prochaine fois, je vérifierai l’heure avant de répondre.
Read it in English
On Tuesday, I missed our online meeting. I had written down ten o’clock, but it started at nine. I should have checked the invitation the day before. We should have confirmed the time together.
At half past nine, Léa sent me a message. I could have called her back straight away, but I waited. I would have liked to take part in the discussion. The others could have sent me a reminder, but they thought I was busy.
I then sent a rather curt reply. I shouldn’t have written that. Léa said to me, “You should have let us know as soon as you saw your mistake.” She was right. We would have liked to talk all together. Next time, I’ll check the time before replying.