The structure ought to have + past participle is used to talk about things which were supposed to happen but did not, or to express regret or criticism. Here are some examples with the most common past participles:
- You ought to have known better than to trust him. He is a liar.
- She ought to have done her homework before watching TV. Now she is behind schedule.
- He ought to have had a check-up before he went on the trip. He might have a serious illness.
- They ought to have said something when they saw the problem. They could have prevented the disaster.
- I ought to have made a reservation at the restaurant. It was fully booked when we got there.
- You ought to have taken more care of your health. You look exhausted.
- She ought to have seen a doctor when she felt sick. She might have a serious infection.
- He ought to have gone to bed earlier. He is very sleepy now.
- They ought to have given us more time to finish the project. It was too rushed.
- I ought to have come earlier. I missed the beginning of the movie.
- You ought to have thought twice before you quit your job. It was a good opportunity.
- She ought to have learned from her mistakes. She keeps making the same errors.
- He ought to have received a confirmation email. Something must have gone wrong.
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 202 in MODALITY is defined as:
PAST AFFIRMATIVE ‘ought to have’ + ‘-ed’ to refer to desired states of affairs in the past.
This structure can express regret or show that something did not happen or was not the case in the past.
For example:
l ought to have stayed in Kentucky where l belong.
In the above example, the speaker did not stay in Kentucky.
A search in iWeb for
ought to have _VVN
1 OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN 2986
So in fact, the price of timber in the Beijing marketplace ought to have been three times what it was had it reflected the true pain and the costs to the society within China.
Ought to have + past participle
2 KNOWN 850
3 DONE 575
4 HAD 230
5 SAID 133
6 MADE 129
7 TAKEN 128
8 SEEN 94
9 GONE 87
10 GIVEN 78
11 COME 58
12 THOUGHT 48
13 LEARNED 47
14 RECEIVED 41
15 OUGHT TO HAVE FORESEEN 38
The Punch16 PUT 38
17 TOLD 37
18 OUGHT TO HAVE DISCOVERED 36
The most common collocate is ‘or’ and the context is ‘legal terms’
You shall give written notice of the defect to us, and if the defect is a result of damage in transit, to the carrier,
within seven days of the time when you discover or ought to have discovered the defect.
19 OUGHT TO HAVE KEPT 35
20 OUGHT TO HAVE NOTICED 33
21 OUGHT TO HAVE BROUGHT 32
22 OUGHT TO HAVE MENTIONED 32
23 OUGHT TO HAVE ASKED 31
24 OUGHT TO HAVE CONSIDERED 31
25 OUGHT TO HAVE HAPPENED 28
26 OUGHT TO HAVE FOUND 27
27 OUGHT TO HAVE PAID 27
28 OUGHT TO HAVE TAUGHT 27
29 OUGHT TO HAVE WON 27
30 OUGHT TO HAVE BECOME 26
31 OUGHT TO HAVE LEFT 26
32 OUGHT TO HAVE ADDED 24
33 OUGHT TO HAVE GOT 24
34 OUGHT TO HAVE REMEMBERED 24
35 OUGHT TO HAVE SHOWN 24
36 OUGHT TO HAVE REMAINED 23
37 OUGHT TO HAVE DIED 22
38 OUGHT TO HAVE FOLLOWED 22
39 OUGHT TO HAVE FELT 21
40 OUGHT TO HAVE INVESTED 21
41 OUGHT TO HAVE READ 21
42 OUGHT TO HAVE SUFFERED 21
In other words, all the punishment you ought to have suffered for breaking the laws and commandments of God,