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A: Have you seen your kids recently?

B: No. I was going to see / I should've seen / I would've seen them last weekend, but I canceled.

  1. Without more context, which of these would be more likely?

  2. Which one should I use if there was an agreement, and if I don't want B to show bad conscience for canceling even though he maybe does have?

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    There is also I was supposed to see them. I don't know which is the most likely - have you tried Google Ngrams?
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 15:14
  • I'm confused—I distinctly remember this question from a few days ago, but can't find it now. Was it deleted? Anyway: There's no such thing as "without more context." What I mean is, real conversations have real context, and meaning depends on it. Take away the context and we can't say anything definite about meaning.
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 15:23
  • I have tried Google Ngram viewer, but it's hard to know which one of them would be more likely in my context.
    – Bobobobobo11
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 15:25
  • The question you think about had a similar dialog but focused on another part of it, I believe. I didn't delete it.
    – Bobobobobo11
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 15:30
  • Just ignore the first question then.
    – Bobobobobo11
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 15:31

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Keeping point 2 in mind (I don't want B to show bad conscience for cancelling), I would probably use No. I was going to see them last week, but I cancelled. I should've seen them reflects guilt, and I would've seen them reflects even more guilt...

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