“Woulda coulda shoulda”  or “coulda shoulda woulda” and “shoulda coulda woulda” are all expressions that mean the same thing; they express a feeling of regret or second-guessing.

These expressions (really all just variations on one expression) all use an informal form of  the conditional subjunctive verb tense: would have = would’ve = woulda, could have = could’ve = coulda, and should have = should’ve = shoulda.  These conditional verbs are in the subjunctive mood, because they imply possible or theoretical conditions, otherwise known as “wishful thinking.”  These conditionals are used to indicate what could have, would have, or should have happened if what actually happened was different.

“Woulda coulda shoulda” circumstances happen more often than many people like to admit. For example, a nervous teenage boy wanting to ask a girl out on a first date may get too nervous and not do so, but then later realize that he “woulda coulda shoulda” asked the girl out on a date while the two were talking earlier in the day.  Or after getting in a car accident a driver might think of what she/he would have done differently, could have have done differently, or should have done differently, to prevent the accident.  For many people, there is a clear difference between what actually happened and what one wishes would have happened in a given situation.  Sometimes people realize a number of options they could have or should have taken instead of the action they actually did take after the situation is over.  This feeling of regret or second-guessing is summed up in the expression “woulda coulda shoulda.”

Interestingly there is even a song about this expression in English.  Below is the music video for this song and the lyrics so you can follow along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bug-hnPxFaY

“Shoulda Woulda Coulda” by Beverley Knight

People say that together we were both sides of the same coin
That we would shine like Venus in a clear night sky
We thought our love could overcome the circumstances
But my ambition wouldn’t allow for compromise

I could see in the distance all the dreams that were clear to me
Every choice that I had to make left you on your own
Somehow the road we started down had split asunder
Too late to realise how far apart we’d grown.
How I wish I, wish I’d done a little bit more

Now ” Shoulda woulda coulda,” means I’m out of time
Coz “Shoulda woulda coulda”, can’t change your mind
And I wonder, wonder, wonder what I’m gonna do
“Shoulda woulda coulda” are the last words of a fool

People ask how it feels to live the kind of life others dream about
I tell them everybody gotta face their highs and their lows
And in my life there’s a love I put aside, cause I was busy loving something else
So for every little thing you hold on to, you’ve got to let something else go