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Can "ought to have" be used to express regrets in the past?
I know we usually use "I wish I had..." / "If only I had..." / 3rd Conditional / "I should have..." to express past regret. Is it possible to use "ought to have..." to express regret, too? Any other ways you could think of?:)
Thank you!:)
3 Answers
- CopaceticLv 79 years agoFavorite Answer
A sentence such as,"I ought to have been a better father.", expresses both a missed
obligation, and remorse for missing that obligation. So, yes it can be used to express
regret for past mistakes.
- sr_engrLv 69 years ago
ought to have had ...
When I was a teen, lamenting on the hardships in my life, I ought to have had more vigor in fleeing the madness of those years. I should have left home at 14. I should have gone to CalTech and lived there until they hauled me away. Instead of weeping, I should have fought harder. I did not know that I only became a victim when I stopped fighting - when I stopped raging against the darkness.
- megalomaniacLv 79 years ago
'Ought to' indicates and obligation (and in the past would likely mean missing that obligation). It doesn't really indicate contrition (being sorry) as it is more descriptive, only indicating that an obligation was missed.
You can use 'regret' as a verb and say "I regret doing X" or "I regret not doing Y", that's a more clear more direct way to indicate that you are sorry that you missed your obligation.
