They should have gotten home by now.

[sania-baharat]

1. They should have gotten home by now.
2. They should get home by now.

What is the difference between them? I guess both refers to present time.

 

[emsr2d2]

2 is ungrammatical. In BrE, 1 would be "They should have got home by now" (or "They should be home by now").

If you want to use "get", you need to refer to the future. "They should get home by 2pm", for example.

 

[sania-baharat]

1. They should have gotten home by now.

When do we use the first sentence? Is it something like "They might/must have gotten home by now."?
We use when we want to refer to the past in the present time?

 

[GoesStation]

When do we use the first sentence? Is it something like "They might/must have gotten home by now."?
We use when we want to refer to the past in the present time?

You're meeting family at a museum. You expected them at 2:00 pm, but it's already 2:20 and they still haven't arrived. They should have been there by then.

 

[jutfrank]

It could be used to make a prediction about the past:

Your parents spent the day at your house. They left by car about two hours ago. You know their journey home takes around an hour and a half. You could say to your husband They should have gotten home by now.

Note though that it would be more natural to say They should be home by now.

 

[sania-baharat]

You're meeting family at a museum. You expected them at 2:00 pm, but it's already 2:20 and they still haven't arrived. They should have been there by then.

Thank you. Can we say "They should be there by then" too?

 

[Tdol]

Not for me- you could say They should be here by now.

 

[emsr2d2]

"They should be there by then" works if you're discussing the future likelihood of something happening.

John: I'm meeting Mum and Dad outside the theatre tonight before we watch The Rocky Horror Show.
Sarah (John's Sister): Oh, that'll be fun. What time are you meeting them?
John: Well, that's what I'm not sure about. We forgot to set a time. I tried calling them earlier but there was no answer.
Sarah: I know they're planning to leave home at 6pm.
John: OK, so maybe I should aim to meet them at 7pm.
Sarah: They should be there by then.

 

[jutfrank]

You're meeting family at a museum. You expected them at 2:00 pm, but it's already 2:20 and they still haven't arrived. They should have been there by then.

I think you mean They should be here by now.

 

[GoesStation]

You're meeting family at a museum. You expected them at 2:00 pm, but it's already 2:20 and they still haven't arrived. They should have been there by then.

I think you mean They should be here by now.

No, I don't. I'm narrating a story set in the past. I've switched between the historical present and the past simple. My final sentence is narrating reported internal dialog, if you will.

 

[tzfujimino]

I thought GS's example of 'should have been' in #4 was
this (definition #4): https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/should?q=should