Tonight’s song is a serious one. The singer looks back, years later, on a relationship she had at nineteen with a much older man. She believes he should have known better, and that it took something from her youth.
Learn from Songs · Unit 9c: Third and mixed conditionals · B2
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
Taylor Swift’s song of regret: the third conditional (If I hadn’t met you, I would have…), would’ve, could’ve, should’ve and how they sound, mixed conditionals, and the language of responsibility, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
That sounds very painful.
SOPHIA
It is. And the whole song is built on three little words that every learner of English needs: would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. The language of looking back at a past that can’t be changed.
PHILO
And of responsibility. The older one should protect the younger.
Before you listen: the song
New York, 2022
Taylor Swift released Midnights in October 2022, an album of songs about sleepless nights. A few hours later, at three in the morning, she released seven extra songs, the “3am Edition”. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” is one of them.
She wrote it with Aaron Dessner of the band The National, who had produced her quieter albums Folklore and Evermore. Many listeners consider it one of her most powerful and honest songs, about anger and regret that last for years.
In the song, she looks back. If he hadn’t chosen her when she was so young, her life would have been different. He should have known better. She wants her youth back, and she can’t have it.
The older and stronger must protect the younger.
Listen: the regrets
PHILO
Listen once. How many times do you hear would’ve, could’ve, should’ve? What does she want back?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🕰️ Listen to the song: “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” (Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner, 2022), by Taylor Swift.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve”, Taylor Swift.Read the lyrics →
The third conditional
MARCOS
If I had known, I would have left. If she hadn’t met him, she would have been happier.
SOPHIA
If + past perfect, would have + past participle = an imaginary past: it didn’t happen. If I had studied, I would have passed (I didn’t study, I didn’t pass). You can use could have / might have in the result too.
Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve
DEMETRIA
would’ve = would have; could’ve = could have; should’ve = should have. They sound like “woulda, coulda, shoulda”.
SOPHIA
In speech, have is reduced to /əv/, and many people write it wrongly as “of”. Never write “would of”! Woulda, coulda, shoulda is also an idiom: useless regrets about the past.
Mixed conditionals
PHILO
If I hadn’t met him (past), I’d be a different person now (present).
SOPHIA
If + past perfect, would + infinitive = a past cause with a present result: If I had taken that job, I would be rich now. And the other way: If I were braver, I would have spoken up.
Responsibility
MARCOS
He should have known better. He took advantage of her. It wasn’t her fault. She was only nineteen.
SOPHIA
should have known better = he was old enough to know it was wrong. take advantage of = use someone unfairly. These phrases put responsibility where it belongs.
Sophia’s comparison: Prometheus and Epimetheus, and Esau
SOPHIA
The Greeks had two brothers: Prometheus, whose name means forethought, and Epimetheus, which means afterthought. Epimetheus always understood his mistakes too late: he is the god of would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.
PHILO
And Esau came in from the fields, hungry, and sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red stew. Afterwards he cried bitterly, but he could not change it. The Torah says: thus Esau despised his birthright. Some choices cannot be undone.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If + past perfect, would have + past participle | third conditional | If I had known, I would have left. |
| would’ve / could’ve / should’ve | spoken forms of would / could / should have | I should’ve listened. |
| If + past perfect, would + infinitive | mixed: past cause, present result | If I hadn’t met him, I’d be different now. |
| should have known better | responsibility | He should have known better. |
| take advantage of | use someone unfairly | He took advantage of her. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What is the song about?
2. Who does she think was responsible?
3. What does she want back?
4. Which edition of Midnights is it on?
5. Who wrote it with her?
6. What do “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” mean as an idiom?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. If I had , I would have left. (know)
8. If she hadn’t met him, she would been happier.
9. He should have better. (know)
10. If I hadn’t taken that job, I be rich now. (mixed)
11. He took advantage her.
12. I should’ve to you. (listen)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “If I would have known, I would have come.”
14. “I should of told you.”
15. “If I hadn’t missed the bus, I would be at home now.”
16. “He should have known better.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Chain of consequences. Start with a past event and build a chain: If I hadn’t…, I wouldn’t have…, and if I hadn’t…, I would never have…
Discuss. 1. Why do adults have a special responsibility towards young people? 2. Is it useful to think about would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, or does it keep us stuck? 3. How can we help a friend who regrets something?
Write (150–180 words). A turning point. Write about a moment that changed someone’s life (real or imagined). Use three third conditionals, one mixed conditional, and should have known better.
Now play the gamebook: an apprentice, an older man who should have known better, and a way out.Play the gamebook →