should have increased

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "should have increased" is grammatically correct and commonly used in written English.
It is used to express a missed opportunity or regret about something that should have happened in the past. Example: The company's profits should have increased by 10%, but due to the economic downturn, they remained stagnant.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

They should have increased their lead, too.

The Guardian - Sport

And, yes, we should have increased the size of the military some time ago.

The New York Times

And here's the thing: government's role should have increased, at least for now.

The New York Times

With Johnson out the last two games, Lopez's role perhaps should have increased.

The New York Times

Deregulation of interest rates, which should have increased returns for savers, indirectly brought them down.

The Economist

"If anything that should have increased our interest because we're becoming a much bigger content provider," he said.

The New York Times

If the conservative model is correct, tax compliance should have increased, since the return to evasion fell substantially.

The New York Times

Finally, Campbell argues that "Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats publicly acknowledge" that the Scottish parliament should have increased powers, especially economic powers, within the union.

The Guardian

"We should have increased the military a long time ago, when this thing started, and we should have had more troops on the ground," he said.

The New York Times

Mr. Ryding argues that he warned back then that various signs pointed to reflation, and that the Fed should have increased short-term interest rates.

The New York Times

There is a percolating feeling among some directors, the people said, that the bank should have increased its risk operations and management sooner.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "should have increased" to express a missed opportunity or a hypothetical improvement in a past situation. Ensure the context clearly indicates what was expected to increase and why it didn't.

Common error

Avoid using "should have increased" when referring to current or future scenarios. This phrase is specifically for past situations where an increase was expected but did not occur. For present or future scenarios, use "should increase" or "should be increasing" instead.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "should have increased" functions as a modal auxiliary construction expressing a counterfactual conditional about a past event or state. According to Ludwig AI, this phrase indicates that something was expected or desired to increase but did not.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

37%

Science

35%

Formal & Business

28%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "should have increased" is a grammatically correct and frequently used phrase to express that something was expected to rise or grow in the past but did not. According to Ludwig AI, it indicates a missed opportunity or a hypothetical improvement that didn't occur. The phrase is versatile, appearing in news, scientific, and business contexts alike. When using the phrase, ensure it's clear what was expected to increase and why it didn't. Related phrases include "ought to have risen" and "could have expanded". Remember that "should have increased" is reserved for past scenarios and should not be used to discuss present or future expectations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

should have grown

Focuses on the expansion or development that didn't occur.

ought to have risen

Indicates an expectation that something should have gone up.

could have expanded

Suggests a potential for growth that was not realized.

might have improved

Highlights the possibility of a positive change that didn't happen.

needed to be amplified

Emphasizes the necessity of increasing something that was not sufficiently boosted.

should have been augmented

Suggests something lacked the necessary addition or enhancement.

was expected to climb

Indicates a prior expectation that something would increase.

was meant to be enhanced

Highlights a planned or intended improvement that did not occur.

was supposed to elevate

Expresses the idea that an elevation or rise was planned or anticipated, but didn't happen.

required amplification

Indicates the demand and necessarity of increase that was not realized.

FAQs

How can I use "should have increased" in a sentence?

Use "should have increased" to indicate that something was expected to rise or grow in the past, but it did not. For example, "Profits "should have increased" if the marketing campaign had been successful".

What's a more formal alternative to "should have increased"?

In formal contexts, consider using "ought to have risen" or "was expected to increase". For instance, "The company's revenue "ought to have risen" following the new product launch".

Is it correct to say "should increased" instead of "should have increased"?

No, "should increased" is grammatically incorrect. The correct form is ""should have increased"", which uses the auxiliary verb "have" to form the perfect tense.

What's the difference between "should have increased" and "should increase"?

"Should have increased" refers to a past expectation that was not met, while "should increase" refers to a present or future expectation. Example: "The budget should increase next year" versus "The budget "should have increased" last year, but it didn't".