6
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How many legitimate uses of "could of" / "would of" / "should of" are there?
Essentially, words are really made of sounds and not letters. The weak forms of have and of are homophones and can both be pronounced as /əv/—or in rapid speech as just /ə/ or /v/:
/'ʃəd əv '...
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6
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What's the exact meaning of "You should have passed the exam."?
Modal verbs are tricky because the same modal can have different interpretations. Without context, we cannot be certain which situation is being expressed. For example,
You could have passed the ...
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5
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Why did the use of "if you shall" and "if you should" dramatically decline?
In the transition into and out of Early Modern English, so really a very long time ago, people would write if you shall with the modal shall followed by some verb in its plain form to convey the same ...
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What is the difference between "to be" and "must/need/should be"?
It is a very General question, but here is a starting point, in very general terms:
Use "to be" when that is what the future holds, according to the current situation.
For example:
OK: &...
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4
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BrE usage of "should have"
The sentence I can't imagine why he should have left her expresses a personal judgement or reaction to a behaviour.
In the entry on should in Practical English Usage (page 512) Swan states in the ...
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3
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Why do people use ‘should’ in “It’s funny you should say that”?
Lexico's definition of "should" says:
Used in a clause with ‘that’ after a main clause describing feelings.
‘it is astonishing that we should find violence here’
‘It seems to me revealing ...
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Does "If someone should do" stand for "if by any chance someone does" or "if by any chance someone did"?
"If you should find that book, could you keep it for me?" refers to the future. So it can only mean "If, by any chance, you find that book, could you keep it for me?"
As for "...
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Why is "should" put in the following sentences?
The use of “should” in these cases mirrors the use of the subjunctive in other languages. There is some dispute as to the use of the term “subjunctive” to refer to the alternate form here, formed by ...
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it's important that he... -- it's important for him to
You can make the sentences even shorter. In most cases, you can omit "that" and "should." Some sentences can have double meanings, so you may want to say exactly what you intend.
"It's vital that ...
- 545
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SHOULD inversion in conditionals
Your friends are wrong about the grammaticality of the sentence in capital letters.
You could rephrase the bolded sentence as: Should there have been the possibility of secondary devices, arriving ...
- 33.5k
2
votes
Accepted
omission of should in that clause
It is strange that he be angry is an archaic use of the "present subjunctive" which is rare in modern English, and almost obsolete in this context.
It is strange that he have failed is parallel: a ...
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I am surprised that he did/should do/should have done it
The first implies that I am sure that he actually did it yesterday.
The third implies that I have reason to think he did it, but I am not certain: perhaps I have heard that he did it.
The second ...
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the usages of should
This use of "should the penny get" means essentially "if the penny got". ("Should XXX get" is a bit of an idiom, and there's no direct replacement for "should" that I can think of.)
"Penny pinching" ...
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BrE usage of "should have"
The Wikipedia article contains the following: A friend of Miller, Captain S. B. Brown, was convinced that Miller would never have left Joyita alive.
Apparently Miller (and everyone else) was missing ...
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2
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How do American speakers use the present subjunctive in a less formal way on American-English?
Well, I like using the subjunctive in English.
But I can tell you what I've observed in the US, where I live (I've never lived in the UK -- only visited). Most people I come into contact say things ...
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Why isn't this an auxiliary verb?
Your question is from https://nagelhout.faculty.unlv.edu/AGiC/s4nx.html with the commentary:
Again, the first step is to highlight any words that might be auxiliaries:
The author has failed to ...
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1
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Usage of 'should have'
The following is the sense of should that's being used in the article:
[Merriam-Webster]
4 —used in auxiliary function to express what is probable or expected
// with an early start, they should ...
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Usage of 'should have'
"Should have" can also refer to something you were assumed to do, without specifying whether you did it or not.
How much did I spend on movies last year? Well, a movie costs about $10, and ...
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Shall & Should & the “Mandative Subjunctive”
In this context, "should" is just the past simple of "shall".
Mistresses expect that their maids shall wear caps.
vs
Years ago, mistresses expected that their maids should wear ...
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"should" vs "should have to"
1a means strictly
All contestants should be required to follow the same rules,
ie there should be one set of rules for all. This does not speak of the actual behaviour of contestants, but how the ...
- 87.1k
1
vote
Use of should in the sentence provided
Especially in UK English should might be substituted for would in its modal verb form.
cambridge.org/dictionary/english/should
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What's the exact meaning of "You should have passed the exam."?
"How to correctly use should in many contexts like this?"
Using it correctly would involve the other person understanding how you meant it, yes?
This seems to be a question about body language, tone ...
- 21
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"should like to" vs. "would like to"
I have always used " I should like " rather than " I would like." Perhaps it relates to my age ( 66 ) or my unhappy public school education. I suppose it is not particularly ...
1
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"Should" vs "have to"
Should - it will be good if you do that.
Have - it will be bad if you don't do that.
I think should implies that the person has more choice in the matter.
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1
vote
Accepted
"should" and value judgements
You can use 'should' without any value judgement when you are discussing e.g. necessity. It can be used when discussing obligation, duty, or correctness. When you ask a business client if, in view of ...
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"should" and value judgements
According to Merriam-Webster, one definition of "should" is:
used as a more polite or less assured form of shall
I believe that applies in this case.
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What to use after "should be"?
Well, in this case only should + past participle works. So it’s correct to say “Good movies should be reviewED.” The previous sentence is in the passive voice and ONLY takes the past participle. If ...
1
vote
what will come "should" or "shall"?
Should implies a moral imperative but is not necessarily what you will do. Shall is what you will do.
when you say "i shall eat", there can be no doubt that you will eat. wether you should or not ...
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