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In the previous lesson, we learned how to form the **conditionnel passé** (past conditional) to imagine alternate realities. Another major use of this tense is to express regrets about your own past actions, or to reproach someone else for their poor decisions.

### "Should have" with *Devoir*

To express that someone "should have" done something, use the past conditional of the verb **devoir**.

The formula is: **avoir** (in the conditional) + **dû** + infinitive verb.

Use this to express personal regrets about missed opportunities or bad choices—like holding onto a risky stock for too long.

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### Expressing Reproaches

When you use this same structure with *tu* or *vous*, it becomes a reproach—a way of criticizing someone else's past decision or lack of action.

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### "Should not have"

To say what someone "should not have" done, simply place **ne** (or **n'**) and **pas** (or another negative word like **jamais**) around the auxiliary verb. 

The negation goes *before* the word **dû**.

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### "Could have" with *Pouvoir*

Similarly, you can use the past conditional of the verb **pouvoir** to talk about a missed ability or opportunity—what someone "could have" done to prevent a disaster.

The formula is: **avoir** (in the conditional) + **pu** + infinitive verb.

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### Putting it all together

You will often see reproaches and regrets combined in the same thought. You can use *aurait dû* to call out the mistake, and a regular past conditional verb to describe the disaster you would have avoided.

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Expressing regrets and reproaches

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the broker	le courtier
the stock (f)	l'action
The broker should have sold the stock.	Le courtier aurait dû vendre l'action.
risky	risqué
It was too risky, I should not have invested.	C'était trop risqué, je n'aurais pas dû investir.
to warn (to alert)	avertir
the crash	le krach
You knew it, you should have warned me before the crash.	Tu le savais, tu aurais dû m'avertir avant le krach.
the capital	le capital
Since you lost everything, you should have protected the capital.	Comme tu as tout perdu, tu aurais dû protéger le capital.
to speculate	spéculer
the loss	la perte
We should not have speculated, the loss is serious.	Nous n'aurions pas dû spéculer, la perte est grave.
You should have sold it to this broker.	Tu aurais dû le vendre à ce courtier.
to collapse	s'effondrer
The stock collapsed, I should have listened to your advice.	L'action s'est effondrée, j'aurais dû écouter ton conseil.
to stake	miser
He should never have bet all his capital.	Il n'aurait jamais dû miser tout son capital.
The investment was risky, he should have kept his money.	L'investissement était risqué, il aurait dû garder son argent.
They could have avoided the crash, but they preferred to speculate.	Elles auraient pu éviter le krach, mais elles ont préféré spéculer.
The market is going to collapse, we should have acted.	Le marché va s'effondrer, nous aurions dû agir.
You should have warned me before betting everything, we would have avoided this loss.	Tu aurais dû m'avertir avant de tout miser, nous aurions évité cette perte.
the fault, the wrong	le tort
The fault is on my side.	Le tort est de mon côté.
He wrongly paid for his neighbour.	Il a payé à tort pour son voisin.
the harm; (dommage !) the pity	le dommage
The damage is very serious.	Les dommages sont très graves.
There was a lot of damage after the storm.	Il y a eu beaucoup de dommages après l'orage.

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