Week 1
🎯Goal: Understand and use past modals (should have, could have, would have) to express regret.
Regrets
you are looking back upon a past event and reflecting upon it. The feeling of regret is not positive, and it comes from strongly wanting to change your actions, your behaviors, your reactions, etc. In the present you are thinking back to a past event, and expressing your regret which may make you feel apologetic, sad, or shameful. Using past modals to express regrets involves using modal verbs like "could have," "should have," and "would have" followed by a past participle. These constructions are used to talk about actions or decisions that were possible in the past but were not done, leading to feelings of regret or missed opportunities. Here's a breakdown of each:
Read & Listen: The Regret Hotline
From the definition to real voices: You just read what regret IS — now listen to what it SOUNDS like. Tonight, three callers share their stories live on the radio. Your mission: catch how each one uses should have, could have and would have — you'll need these structures right after!
📞 Caller 1 — Marina, 34
The career she didn't choose
📞 Caller 2 — Diego, 27
The trip he said no to
📞 Caller 3 — Ana, 41
The English she never learned
transcript
Caller 1 — Marina, 34: "I called about my career. I studied law because my parents wanted me to. I shoulda studied journalism — it's what I loved. I could have applied to another university, but I was afraid to disappoint them. If I had been braver, I would have changed courses in the first year. I wish I had listened to myself back then."
Caller 2 — Diego, 27: "Mine is about a trip. My friends invited me to backpack through South America after college. I said no because of work. I should have gone. They had the time of their lives. I wish I hadn't been so scared of losing my job — the job ended a year later anyway!"
Caller 3 — Ana, 41: "I regret not learning English earlier. I could have taken classes in my twenties, when I had more free time. If only I had started then — I'd be fluent by now. But hey, I'm here now, so maybe it's not too late."
Did you notice? Marina, Diego and Ana all looked back at the past with the same three structures — could have, should have and would have (plus a taste of wish / if only — coming in Week 2!). Let's break each one down ↓
Past modals
Could have + past participle:
This structure is used to talk about something that was possible to do in the past but wasn't done.
This structure is used to talk about something that was possible to do in the past but wasn't done.
- Example: "I could have studied harder for the exam." (This means the speaker had the ability to study more, but they didn't do it.)
- "Could you have done more to help?"
Negative:
Couldn't have + past participle
"I couldn't have gone to the party even if I wanted to, because I had to stay home."
Question
Could + subject +have + past participle?
Could + subject +have + past participle?
Should have + past participle:
This is used to express something that was the right thing to do in the past, but it wasn't done.
This is used to express something that was the right thing to do in the past, but it wasn't done.
- Example: "She should have called her parents to let them know she was okay." (It was the right and expected action, but she didn't do it.)
- "They shouldn't have ignored the warning signs."
- "Shouldn't she have informed us about the change in plans?"
Negative:
Shouldn't have + past participle:
Question
Should + subject + have past participle?
Should + subject + have past participle?
Would have + past participle:
This structure is used to express something that was imagined or planned in the past but did not happen.
This structure is used to express something that was imagined or planned in the past but did not happen.
- Example: "If I had known about the traffic, I would have left earlier." (The speaker is expressing a hypothetical situation: if they had been aware of the traffic, they would have taken a different action.)
- "She wouldn't have missed the bus if she had left earlier."
- "Would he have accepted the offer if it had been more lucrative?"
Negative:
Wouldn't have + past participle:
Question
Would + subject + have + past participle?
Would + subject + have + past participle?
shoulda = should have
coulda = could have
woulda = would have
Let's practice
Time to put what you've learned into action! Complete the exercises below.
Week 2
🎯Goal: Use wish / if only for regrets about the past and the present — and keep practicing past modals.
Warm up - let’s talk
Wish & If Only — regretting the past and the present
Sometimes the regret is about the past. Sometimes it's about now. Different moments, different structures:
Careful! ❌ I wish I would have studied → ✅ I wish I had studied.
If only = a stronger, more emotional I wish: If only I had gone with them!
Let's practice: past or present regret?
Complete with the best structure — past perfect (past regret) or past simple (present regret):
- I wish I __ (learn) to cook when I lived with my grandmother.
- I wish I __ (live) closer to the beach. (now!)
- If only we __ (leave) earlier — we missed the flight.
- I wish I __ (know) how to fix this. (I don't know now)
- If only I __ (listen) to your advice!
✅ Answers — check after you try!
- had learned (past regret)
- lived (present regret)
- had left (past)
- knew (present)
- had listened (past)
🎮 The Regret Hotline — Interactive
Remember Marina, Diego and Ana from the Week 1 calls? Tonight YOU are the host! Each caller shares a regret — choose the best response. The answers mix should have, could have, would have AND wish / if only, so read the situation first!
Speaking: My regrets
Think about 3 situations in your life that you regret. Share them with the class — your classmates will react using should have, could have, and would have!
Your turn: Think of 3things you regret and tell your classmates.
For example: "I didn't study English when I was a child."
Your classmates will respond with:
- "You should have started earlier!"
- "You could have taken online classes."
- "You would have been fluent by now if you had!"
- "If only you had started earlier!" / "I wish you had tried!"
Week 3 — FINAL PROJECT: The Regret Hotline 📞
🎯Goal: Bring ONE regret, talk about it live for 2–3 minutes, and give classmates advice using should have, could have, would have + wish / if only.
🏠 Homework: prepare your call
Before class, prepare at home:
Choose ONE regret (real or invented)
Outline your 2–3 minutes: what happened → what you would change → how you feel now
Include at least 3 past modals and 1 wish / if only in your story
Practice out loud — no reading!
✍️ Written practice (homework too): reply to "Stuck"
"Dear Hotline,
Five years ago, my best friend moved abroad and asked me to go with her. I said no — I was comfortable, and change scared me. She's thriving now. We barely talk anymore. I keep thinking: I should have taken the risk. I could have built a completely different life. If only I had said yes.
How do I stop living in the past? — Stuck"
Write at least 8 sentences replying to the letter. Your reply must include:
- At least 1 sentence with should have / shouldn't have
- At least 1 sentence with could have
- At least 1 sentence with would have
- At least 1 sentence with wish or if only
- And your honest advice: can we change the past — or only the future?
Now read your reply out loud to your classmates! Who was more understanding? Who was tougher?
📞 FINAL PROJECT: The Regret Hotline — Live!
How it works: each student "calls" the hotline with the regret they prepared at home, talking for 2–3 minutes: what happened, what you should/could/would have done differently, and how you feel about it now.
The hosts (your classmates) MUST comment and give advice on every call, using the structures from the unit:
- "You should have…" / "You shouldn't have…"
- "You could have…"
- "You would have… if…"
- "If only you had…" / "I wish you had…"
Every caller must hear at least one comment from each host. The most supportive (or most dramatic!) host wins. 🏆
1-on-1 class? Your teacher is the host! Deliver your call, listen to the advice — then call AGAIN with a second regret (or an improved version of the first), applying what you heard.
🔄 Follow-up speaking: Regret & Moving On
After all the calls, discuss — use at least ONE structure from the unit (should have, could have, would have, wish, if only) in EVERY answer:
- Why do people often realize what matters only after it's too late?
- Have you ever ignored something important and only understood it later? What stopped you from acting sooner?
- "No regrets" is a famous motto. Is it possible — or even healthy — to live with zero regrets?
- What's the difference between learning from a regret and being trapped by it?
- If you could send a message to yourself 5 years ago, what would you say?
➕ Go deeper — extra speaking rounds
1. One year later: each caller "returns" to the hotline one year later. What changed? "I'm glad I listened to your advice because…" / "I wish I had acted sooner…"
2. Agree or disagree? "It's better to regret something you DID than something you DIDN'T do." Defend your opinion using an example from one of today's calls.
3. Message to my past self: record a 30-second voice message to yourself 5 years ago — then play it for the group. Which structures from the unit did you naturally use?
Timing tips: Group class? Each caller + advice round takes ~5 minutes per student. 1-on-1? Do all three extra rounds — they stretch the follow-up into a full conversation and give the student a second (and third!) chance to use every structure from the unit.
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