Your Perfect English Modals in the Past | Page 5

03

As is logical, in a question the Subject and the Modal are inverted:

We should have come earlier

Should we have come earlier?

NOTES

It is not possible to say ‘CAN HAVE DONE’ something, but it is possible to say ‘CAN’ HAVE DONE’ something.

It is not possible to say ‘MUSTN’T HAVE DONE’ something, but it is possible to say ‘MUST HAVE DONE’ something.

It is not possible to use SHALL with a Past meaning.

If you want to use OUGHT TO instead of SHOULD, the structure is: