Questions tagged [should]
For questions about the verb 'should,' including usage, placement, and nuance.
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"should have taken" vs "should've had taken", are they both correct? [closed]
So my friend and I were talking earlier today, he clicked away from a website, and I said:
You should've had taken a screenshot of those results.
To which he replied:
What? You mean I "Should'...
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Why isn't this an auxiliary verb? [closed]
THE EXERCISE:
"I told my mother that my thoughts were bent upon seeing the world that I should never settle to
anything with resolution enough to go through with it, and my father should be ...
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Why is "should" used instead of "would" all over The Fellowship of the Ring? [duplicate]
Over and over again, the author uses "should" where "would" would be right:
I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well ...
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Cambridge IELTS 13 General Training's answer looks incorrect [closed]
Hi guys,
I am doing IELTS 13 - Test 3 - Reading. The question #2 says "An ability to read music is essential". My answer is "false". The correct answer given by the book is "...
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2
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‘should’ versus ‘expected to’ [closed]
I have the following piece of college regulation.
Staff and students should have access to teaching rooms on the hour. Allowing time for setting up equipment and finding seats, this means that formal ...
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How do American speakers use the present subjunctive in a less formal way on American-English?
Although we don't use present subjunctive often, there are some kind of times you practically need to use it. For example, in British-English you usually use "should" in the present ...
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Should in the past [closed]
If I say "I should have done it." it means that I didn't do it.
Imagine: there was something that needed to be done. And I did it. How do I say "should" about REAL past?
I should ...
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3
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What is the difference between "to be" and "must/need/should be"?
Is there a difference in meaning in the following example:
Select the [x] button next to the email address that is to be deleted
Select the [x] button next to the email address that should be deleted
...
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Which is the correct one? "When should we" or "When we should"? [closed]
I would like to know which of the following sentences is the correct one:
a) **When should we** use this or that?
or
b) **When we should** use this or that?
If both are correct, is there a different ...
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The meaning of the sentence "Fortunately/Wisely, she consults her lawyer regularly."
In Quirk's A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language Section 8.128 (page 624): it says
Fortunately/Wisely, she consults her lawyer regularly. [1]
= It is fortunate/wise that she consult(s)/...
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What is this formal (perhaps old-fashioned) actual-state-of-affairs use of 'should' called?
Here are three examples of the kind of thing I have in mind:
“That he should do such a thing is terrible!”
“That this should be the case is regrettable.”
“That such a thing should happen is a blot on ...
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2
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Usage of 'should have'
We know that [Should have + past participle] can mean something that would have been a good idea, but that you didn't do it. As in the following example-
Example: I should have studied harder but I ...
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Shall & Should & the “Mandative Subjunctive”
I came across this distinction between shall and will in Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage:
That-clauses after intend or intention, desire, demand, be anxious, &c., have shall & ...
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Can 'should' be used in past tense?
In the second line of the text, taken from 'Harry Potter',
" Yes,but it took a great deal of skilled Legilimency to coax it out of him.' said Dumbledore, 'and why should everybody delve further ...
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I'm surprised he should + infinitive
To what time do such sentences refer? I mean the part after should.
1 I'm surprised he should complain about your stay there.
Does it mean that the stay is in the past/present/future?
2 I'm surprised ...
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I am surprised that he did/should do/should have done it
1 What is the difference between these:
I am surprised that he did it yesterday.
I am surprised that he should do it yesterday.
I am surprised that he should have done it yesterday.
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the usages of should
In a TOEFL conversation, the professor said: "If you're a copper miner, you won't lose any sleep should the penny get – if you'll excuse the expression – pinched out of existence."
I am confused by ...
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BrE usage of "should have"
This usage of "should have" appears to be a Britishism. I wonder if anyone cares to provide an explanation of the British "should have" usages.
Several observers have emphasised ...
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Should danger approach [duplicate]
Should danger approach either its nest or the crocodile nest, the bird would emit warning cries.
A. What is the grammatical name for this expression?
B. What is its function?
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"should" vs "should have to"
learnersdictionary.com:
(1a) All contestants should have to follow the same rules.
(2a) No one should have to tolerate that kind of treatment.
My variants without "have to":
(1b) All ...
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What is the function of should in this sentence?
“It’s up to employees to make the case, post-virus, that their employers should invest in additional training and skills"
I thought but couldn't find an exact function.
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Use of should in the sentence provided
I don't understand what is the use of "should" in this sentence:- "Strange that now in its old age this dark business should have cast its shadow upon the venerable walls!"
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SHOULD inversion in conditionals
In trying to use inversion with SHOULD to rewrite this sentence "because of the possibility of secondary devices - there were abandonned bags everywhere - arriving ambulance crews were kept back" I ...
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omission of should in that clause
I know that the following sentences are both correct with and without "should."
It is strange that he should be angry.
It is strange that he be angry.
How about these?
It is strange that he should ...
user372345
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What does "should" mean in the paragraph? Is it because of grammar rule? Can we omit it? Will the meaning be different?
"Looking back, they appreciate the benefits of the tough times, which made them stronger and should enable them to go further in their dancing careers."
Thank you!
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Need help with this specific use of "Should" [duplicate]
"We will retain his rights should he wish to be moved elsewhere at a later date"
What are the rules with using "should" like that? should he wish to and so on.
Because it looks weird. but I know it'...
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Why did the use of "if you shall" and "if you should" dramatically decline?
Google Books statistics indicate that the use of the expression "if you should" and especially of the expression "if you shall" per unit of text length dramatically and steadily declined since the ...
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Non-obligational sense/use of "should" for discussing future plans
In discussion of translating between English and another language I saw some people insisting English "should" must be translated as though it has the obligation sense even in contexts like these:
I ...
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Should's or shoulds [duplicate]
I can't figure out for the life of me if it should be "should's" or "shoulds."
It's a follow up sentence of saying, "that's a lot of should's."
(there was also question as to whether the period ...
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"should" and value judgements
Suppose one of your clients emailed you a few weeks ago saying that it may want to hold a big conference at a certain conference center. You do not know yet if it has decided to proceed with the plan ...
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What to use after "should be"? [closed]
Is it compulsory to use verb+ing with "should be"? Or can I use should be+verb+ed? My example - "something good should be reviewed" is it correct? Or "good movies should be reviewed"
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"should never have" and "should not have"
Is there difference between "should never have" and "should not have". For example:
I should not have done what I did.
I should never have done what I did.
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The omission of "should" in a clause sentence [duplicate]
I would like to ask if the sentence below is grammatically correct. If yes, could anyone that is familiar with this rule of usage explain how to use it and cover the complete usage?
It's a matter ...
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what will come "should" or "shall"? [duplicate]
What should i do?
or
What shall i do?
Which is correct.
Note: Im poor in English. So araised this question. I didnt get any proper answer for this question..
Give me proper answer with reason.
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"I should not have" for expressing you regret doing something in the past
Usecase: I went out and got drunk yesterday. Now I regret the fact of drinking a lot yesterday.
I should not have drunk a lot yesterday.
Is that correct?
In general: How can I say that I shouldn'...
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When does "Should" precede the subject? [duplicate]
I'm curious about this matter and have no true explanation for it. As I pinpointed in the title, when does Should precede the subject? I mean the example below (copied):
Should your work habits not ...
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"funny that he should say that" vs. "funny that he said that" [closed]
It is funny that he should say that. I was going to say the same thing
What is the meaning of should here , and why didn't we use 'the past simple' instead of should in this sentence ?
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How many legitimate uses of "could of" / "would of" / "should of" are there? [closed]
After some bad calls using search/replace, I'm curious how many legitimate forms of "could/would/should of" there are. I'm interested in uses that do not derive from, and cannot be replaced by "could ...
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Use of "should have"
It's correct to use "subject + should have + past participle" to events that didn't happen?
Example: He should have gone to work yesterday.
I can use this with "It"?
Example: It should have been a ...
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0
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would + should in one sentence
If the classic authorities could be wrong about so many things, why would should they be trusted about anything?
It is from the article in Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/...
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What's the exact meaning of "You should have passed the exam."? [duplicate]
You should have passed the exam.
Can be understood as:
You are very smart; the exam is very easy for you; but you didn't
pass the exam.
You are very lazy; the exam wasn't that hard for you, but you ...
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Is it impolite to use "you should"? [closed]
I am confused with the usage of 'should'. For example, when I want to give advice to another person, I feel that it is not polite to say "you should XX" and I would like to add 'maybe', just to make ...
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Why is "should" put in the following sentences?
It's strange that he should say so.
She tiptoed lest the guard should hear her.
It's crucial that she should have her own car.
.
I've seen those three sentences somewhere on the internet. I found ...
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Grammar "should it hold up"
I read a news about terrorist attack:
Berger said Kobani, aside from being sole example cited, was a military-style operation, not a terrorist attack, so the formula, should it hold up, might apply ...
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Is "lest" always followed by "should"?
I remember my grandfather giving examples of "lest" like
...lest you should fail.
Is "lest" always followed by "should" because I see "lest" all the times without being followed by "should" in ...
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Should instead of would
In Red-headed League from The adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a character named Wilson describes a weird sight of hundreds of red haired men crowding the area to Holmes. By his account he had been ...
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How does Should/Could/Might/... affect the following verbs [closed]
Which sentence is correct?
(1) One should avoid the configurations indicated by (i) and (ii), and focuses on setting the values of ....
(2) One should avoid the configurations indicated by (i) and (...
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Can "should" be used to mean "if" and used to mean "would" in the same sentence?
It's grammatical to use "should" like "if":
Should you need me, call.
I'll be available should she ask for me.
Should my mother call, let her know I'll be back shortly.
It's also ...
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"Should" as formal IF
Can a phrase starting with "if" always be replaced with a phrase with a phrase starting with SHOULD? It doesn't seem like we can make a direct substitution. For example, we say
If he askED you to ...
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Degree of Potentiality: Would vs. Should: Which indicates a greater possibility?
People in my new workplace hold that "should" is less definitive than "would," for e.g., in the sentence:
Commodity prices could be depressed in 2016 due to oversupply, which should pressure power ...
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