Grammartalk 15, Page 1

1.
A: Sally was very late to work yesterday. She shouldn't have been so late.
B: I know. She went to a party last night, didn't she?
A: Yes, she did. She was smiling when she came home. She must have had a good time.
B: But she really shouldn't have gone to that late night party.
A: Right. It would have been better if she stayed home.
B: I'll say. Also, she should have gotten up much earlier.

2.
A: Jack's car broke down this morning.
B: I'm surprised to hear that. Jack has a new car.
A: Well, as a matter of fact, he ran out of gas.
B: It's easy to see what he should have done.
A: He should have filled up the tank before he left.
B: Exactly. He should have paid closer attention to the gas gauge.

3.
A: Marvin failed his Spanish test last week.
B: He shouldn't have spoken only English with his classmates.
A: Right, and he rarely attended class. He only went to school when he felt like it.
B: Not only did he skip class frequently, but when he attended, he nodded off.
A: Oh, no. He definitely shouldn't have slept in class.

4.
A: Maria is unhappy in her marriage. What went wrong?
B: She and Jerry rushed into marriage. They got married after going together for only one week.
A: They should have waited longer before deciding to tie the knot.
B: I heard that they started to fight over every little thing.
A: They shouldn't have fought so much. They should have tried to understand each other better.

5.
A: Barry didn't do as well as he should have at his job interview.
B: Yes. He should have gotten that job. He's very well qualified..
A: What should Barry have done differently?
B: For one thing, he should have spoken more confidently.
A: His clothes were too flashy. They weren't conservative enough.
B: He should have dressed more conservatively.
A: She should have arrived on time for his appointment.

6.
A: Barry asked a lot of questions about paid vacations.
B: He shouldn't have brought that subject up at the job interview.
A: He ate his lunch during the interview. That was pretty inappropriate.
B: Not only that, he spilled mayonnaise on the carpet. He shouldn't have eaten a turkey sandwich.
A: He should have left that terrible tie at home. It clashed with his other clothes.
B: It is a loud yellow tie.