Hello dear,
Normally we use 'should have + v3 , future in past ...etc' for the situations for past.
For example, I have a present from my mom because tomorrow is my birth day ,and suddenly
I see the present ,and I open that.
Mom: Oh! You should have opened it tomorrow. Why have you opened it now?
or
Oh! You had to open it tomorrow. Why have you opened it now?
or
I wish you had opened it tomorrow. Why have you opened it now?
My question is:Can we use the adverbs of time such as tomorrow , late,...and so on with this situations?
Thanks
Last edited by aysaa; 29-Nov-2011 at 20:29.
That is possible, though I feel that we would be be more likely to say either:
You should have waited till tomorrow. ......or:....You were supposed to open it tomorrow.That is very unlikely. I would say that it is not possible in this particular contextOh! You had to open it tomorrow. Why did you open it now?That one is possible.I wish you had opened it tomorrow
Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.
The reason why we use the adverbs of time such as tomorrow, later,...etc is because it is about the situation which occoured in past, is that right? It is not about tomorrow, it is about opening the present and now the present is open.
The negative situation (not-opening) did not occur in the past - he did open it. So, he should not have opened it; the mother wishes he had not opened it.
The negative thought is transformed into an affirmative one:
"You should not have opened it a few moments ago." - "You should have opened it at some other time."
"I wish you had not opened it a few moments ago." - " I wish you had opened it at some other time.
An adverb referring to a future time for that 'at some other time' gives the future location of the desired hypothetical opening.
Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.