MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Department of English Language and Literature

The modal verb should

and the variety of its functions

Bachelor thesis

Brno 2017

Author: Ing. Helena Budínová Supervisor: Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D.

Abstrakt
Název: Modální sloveso should a všechny podoby jeho použití

Shrnutí:
Hlavním cílem této bakalářské práce je kompletní analýza informací o modálním slovese
shall a should v daném vzorku anglických gramatik za účelem vytvořit ucelený soubor informací
a současně identifikovat rozdílné informace uváděné k této problematice. Práce je členěna do
kapitol od teoretického úvodu, přes jednotlivé problematiky výskytu modálního slovesa shall a
should až k závěru shrnující výsledky analýzy a naplnění či vyvrácení hypotéz.

Klíčová slova: shall, should, modální sloveso, modalita

Abstract
Title: The modal verb should and the variety of its functions

Summary:
The main objective of this thesis is a complete analysis on the modal verb should in a
given sample of English grammar books in order to create a comprehensive set of information
and simultaneously identify different information presented on this issue. The work is divided
into chapters of theoretical introduction, over various issues of occurence of modal verbs shall
and should to a conclusion summarizing the results of the analysis and proving or disproving
given hypotheses.

Key words: shall, should, modal verb, modality

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Prohlášení

Prohlašuji, že jsem bakalářskou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze

citovaných pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty
Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č . 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském,
o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve
znění pozdějších předpisů.
Souhlasím, aby práce byla uložena na Masarykově univerzitě v Brně v knihovně Pedagogické
fakulty a zpřístupněna ke studijním účelům.

V Brně, 15.4. 2017 Ing. Helena Budínová………………..

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Acknowledgements
Hereby I would like to express my big gratitude to my supervisor, Mgr. Radek
Vogel,PhD., who always devoted his precious time and provided valuable advice and active
encouragement as regards my writing this thesis. The most I would like to thank to my whole
family for their immense moral support, especially to my lovely mother.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................7
2. Modal verb and modality ....................................................................................9
2.1. What is a modal verb? ................................................................................... 9
2.2. What is mood and modality? ........................................................................10
2.3. Types of modal verbs and types of moods they can represent .....................13
2.4. Importance of knowledge of modals ............................................................15
3. Modal verb should .............................................................................................16
4. Objectives of the study and hypothesis ............................................................18
5. Primary function of modal verbs shall ...........................................................19
5.1. Shall in legal documents ...............................................................................21
6. Primary function of modal verb should ..........................................................24
6.1. Should in negative and interrogative clauses ................................................24
6.2. Should and the scope of the perfect ..............................................................25
6.3. Should according to the type of modality .....................................................25
7. Uses of modal verb ought to instead of should.................................................28
8. Modal verb should as alternative to the subjunctive ......................................30
8.1. If replaced by should .....................................................................................31
8.2. Putative should ..............................................................................................31
9. Other uses of modal verb should ......................................................................36
10. Interpretation of findings ..................................................................................38
11. Conclusion ..........................................................................................................39
List of references .........................................................................................................40

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List of abbreviations

AmE American English

BrE British English

e.g. for example

Ex. example

i.e. that is

pl. plural

sg. singular

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1. INTRODUCTION
In English grammar, modal verbs are a special group of verbs that help to give a special
meaning to a full verb and help to express the accurate mood of the information hidden within
the utterance. They have many specific features that differentiate them from full verbs. Thanks to
them the full verb indicate the right type of modality that is: ability, duty, obligation, possibility,
suggestion, feeling, opinion, advisability or arrangement and the speaker is able to express
a large scale of various smaller or bigger changes in temper as well as differentiate one´s state
of mind.

The modal verb should is one of modal verbs that help to express large scale of emotions
of the sender. What is fascinating, there is no such a modal verb that would have such a large
scale of possible uses and would be able to help to create so many various couplings in terms
of a morfological service on a syntactical level.

In some cases the modal verb should is still used just as the past form of shall. Or is
replaced by modal verb ought to, or by would or could, or can be used as a marker of
hypothetical or putative meaning. It is also used to express personal reactions to events, in
questions expressing irritation or inability to understand, or with adjectives to express the idea
that something must be done or is important. In negative form the modal verb ought to is not
common and is often replaced by shouldn´t or should not.

In order to find out all these special cases of possible use of modal verbs shall and should
and of their negative forms there will be an interesting survey into the grammatical world with
its specific rules that nowadays retreat or collide with colloquial use in standard English, since
the historical retrospective till the modern, often colloquial means of language of modern
English.

The main aim of this survey is to collect all available information and sources that
provide the various examples and explanations of use of the above mentioned modal verbs in
order to submit a compact and complete review of possible applications of these modal verbs
in modern English language. This thesis can also serve as a review or a supporting summary
to lessons of syntax for teachers of English. It includes uncluttered contents with many
examples, introducing observations in the field of grammatical and syntactical texts from
respectable authors such as Rodney Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum, Douglas Biber, Geoffrey
Leech, Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greendbaum, Jan Svartvik, Visser, F.T., Michael Swan,A.J.

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Thomson and A.V. Martinet. However, thesis draws on the latest surveys and thesis from young
linguists, too.

The thesis is divided into two logical parts, though there is not a strict division. The
theoretical part is providing general information about the grammatical phenomena i.e.
definitions and specific features of modal verbs, list of modal verbs, existing types of linguistic
modalities and moods of verbs as well as a brief overview of a historical development of modal
verbs shall and should.

The practical part is an analysis of the findings from the survey into several grammar
books that were chosen as representative sources of reliable and respectable information about
English grammar on the market, printed or electronical, in order to provide the overal list of use
of the modal verb in all possible moods, meanings and other unusual uses. The thesis also
operates with results of two bachelor theses analysing modal verb shall in legal corpora
and should in a form of putative should.

The final part includes interpretation of findings as well as the answers on the
hypothetical questions and conclusion with summary of the findings.

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2. MODAL VERBS AND MODALITY
2.1. WHAT IS A MODAL VERB?

Figure 1: Modal verbs. From Info de interés: Modal verbs FCE, Brickfield, centré de idiomes, retriever March 17,
2016 from http://www.brickfieldidiomas.com/info-de-interes-modal-verbs-fce/. Copyright 2016 by ProQuest LLC.

A modal verb is a special type of verb functioning as an essential linguistic device

when the insertion of which into a non-modal environemt help to create a different
understanding of the whole utterance. The modal verb alternatively called “modal auxiliary“
(Palmer 2001,15; Quirk et al. 1985, 96), “helping‘ verb“ (Quirk et al. 1985, 120) or “secondary
auxiliary“ (Palmer 2001, 15) has “certain principal features in which it significantly differs from
the full verb and also from its relative, the primary auxiliary verb. Those features are at both
morphosyntactic and semantic levels. “(Palmer 2001, 15)

They do not need an additional auxiliary in negatives or questions. They do not

agree in the third-person singular, as do other auxiliaries and lexical verbs. They are simply
followed by a bare infinitive form of another verb. Most other verbs use the infinitive
with to. Ought to is an exception to this rule. It does require a to-infinitive but otherwise behaves
like other modal verbs. They have no non-finite forms (present participle, past participle or
infinitive). Thus, “they cannot appear in places in the verb phrase where one of these forms
would be required. “ (Palmer 2001, 100)

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 Using modal verb (also modal, modal auxiliary verb, or modal auxiliary) for an English
student can be very tricky and sometimes very difficult in order to find out the most suitable type
of modal verb to express the right modality – that is, likelihood/possibility, ability, permission,
volition, willigness, necessity, prediction and obligation.

A modal verb gives information about the function of the main verb that helps to co-
create different meanings or different mood in different situation. Precise knowledge of all
modal verbs as well as their correct use is crucial to express the right modality within the
transmission of the information in the discourse.

2.2. WHAT IS MOOD AND MODALITY?

“Modality is a kind of mood that the modal helps to create together with the main verb
in order to change the communicative function.“ To be linguistically precise, modality covers
the functions of modal verbs, and can be defined as the “manner in which the meaning
of a clause is qualified so as to reflect the speaker‘s judgement of the likelihood
of the proposition it expresses.“ (Palmer 2001, 33)

In addition, Palmer further explains term of “modality“ as a “semantic term related to the
meanings that are usually associated with mood; the relation between mood and modality like
that between tense and time. “ Moreover, various meanings of modal verbs can be further
categorized, which, however, causes disputes among linguists. Some of them divide modality
into two cathegories, the others into three main cathegories, according to the tense and aspect of
the modal. (Palmer 2001,70)

Huddleston et al. further denotes that “the distinction between mood and modality is like that
between aspect and aspectuality: mood is a category of grammar, modality a category of
meaning. Mood is the grammaticalisation of modality within the verbal system. The term
“mood“ is most usually applied to inflectional systems of the verb, as in the contrast between
indicative, subjunctive, and imperative in such languages as Latin, French, and German.“
(Huddleston et al. 20012, 186)

Simply a personal attitude towards the information expressed by the sentence is

accompanied by personal choice of words i.g. modals and verbs and stress pronounced.
This all creates the original and individual way of speech act that has to be applied within the
area of linguistics and syntax. Thus the information expressed in oral way is interpretable and
intercepted in grammar books and later able to be studied and researched.
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The study of modals is directly linked with modality and vice versa. According to Huddleston
et al. (2002) modals differ according to communicative functions:

Modals have a wide variety of communicative functions, but these functions can
generally be related to a wide scale of types, in terms of one of the following types
of modality:
• epistemic modality, concerned with the theoretical possibility of propositions
being true or not true (including likelihood and certainty)
• deontic modality, concerned with possibility and necessity in terms of freedom
to act (including permission and duty)
• dynamic modality, which may be distinguished from deontic modality, in that
with dynamic modality, the conditioning factors are internal – the subject's own
ability or willingness to act. (Hudleston et. al 20012, 66)

According to Bybee, J.et al.(1994), “epistemic usages of modals tend to develop from deontic
usages. For example, the certainty sense of the English modal verb must has developed after the
strong obligation sense; the probabilistic sense of should has developed after the weak
obligation sense; and the possibility senses of may and can have developed later than the
permission or ability sense“. Two typical sequences of evolution of modal meanings are:
• internal mental ability → internal ability → root possibility (internal or external ability)
→ permission and epistemic possibility

• obligation → probability (Bybee et al. 1994, 192-193)

Therefore Bybee et. al. (1994) mention that there is no wonder that in English, as in many other
languages, some of the same verbs are used for “deontic modality as for epistemic modality“, and
the meaning is “distinguished from the context“:
Ex.1 He must be there by now. (epistemic) versus He must be there tomorrow at
noon (deontic). (193-194)
Moreover, the subdivision of modality according to the exact nature of the two relata is
of the modal relation. The speaker that is expressing the idea and makes the choice of the
modality may or may not be part of the situation included by the sentence. If that speaker is
a participant of the situation, modality expresses that the basis of the situation somehow depends
on that speaker. However, in case “the source of the modality is not part of the situation implied,
then it is typically – although not necessarily – the speaker; and the other relatum of the modal
relation is not the situation implied, but rather the proposition. “ (Modality, 1)

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 If modality is a relation between an external referent and the statement, “it is subjective
modality. If modality is the stright relation between the referent of the sentence subject
and the predicate than it is objective modality“.(Modality, 1)

The main difference is depicted on the following examples:

Ex.2 He must be in the bathroom.

Ex.3 He must go to the bathroom. (Modality, 1)

The best explanation of the modality of Ex. 2 would be that the speaker predicts, from
some preceding experience or on deductive basis, that “He is in the bathroom“ is a reality of the
moment. That is also the most typical example of subjective modality. The most apparent
interpretation of Ex. 3 is that there is some physical condition that “he” has and forces “him“ to
“go to the bathroom“ urgently. That is an example of objective modality. “Objective modality is
based on the idea that it is grounded in the nature of things, especially of the referents taking
part in the situation uttered. Subjective modality is called subjective as it is a result of
predicting or a judgement of the referent, or of some other entity that has a subjective opinion
on the situation. “ (Modality, 1)
Nevertheless, the two statements collide in the following findings :
• any modality is a kind of subjective, since the modalization is necessarily
caused by the referent who expresses his attitude.
• subjective modality is also called “propositional modality“ in some grammars.
• modality that is based on the sentence-subject relation is not called subjective,
but objective.

• objective modality is also called “dynamic modality“. (Modality, 1)

Accordingly, it is clear that the differentiantion of modalities and the attitudes of the
referent is not always as stright as it could seem to be. In the situation of the modals shall and
should the situation is also very complicated. To understand the right meaning and to interprete
the idea the best possible way is mostly influenced by the context, the situational background as
well as the knowledge of the basic types of modalities in order to provide the right expression of
one´s own moods, feelings and ideas.

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 2.3. TYPES OF MODAL VERBS AND TYPES OF MOODS THEY
CAN REPRESENT

Modal verbs are difficult to define in any language because of the wide range of pragmatic
uses and types of modal verbs by native speakers. Some of the more common definitions of the
modal verbs and modalities that they can help to create in English are:

• can – ability, permission, possibility, request

• could – ability, permission, possibility, request, suggestion
• may – permission, probability, request
• might – possibility, probability, suggestion
• must – deduction, necessity, obligation, prohibition
• shall – decision, future, offer, question, suggestion
• should – advice, necessity, prediction, recommendation
• will – decision, future, intention, offer, prediction, promise, suggestion
• would – habit, invitation, permission, preference, request, question, suggestion.
(Modal verbs in English, 1)

Epistemic modals are used to indicate the possibility or necessity of some piece of
knowledge. In the epistemic use, modals can be interpreted as indicating inference or some other
process of reasoning involved in coming to the conclusion stated in the sentence containing the
modal. Epistemic modals do not necessarily require inference, reasoning, or evidence.
One effect of using an epistemic modal (as opposed to not using one) is a general weakening
of the speaker's commitment to the truth of the sentence containing the modal.

In contrast, “deontic modality is concerned with possibility and necessity in terms of

freedom to act (including ability, permission, and duty) “. (Linguistic modality, 1)

The following table lists the modal auxiliary verbs of standard English where most of
them appear more than once based upon the distinction between deontic and epistemic modality
with an example for each of them.

Table 1
English modal verbs Note. Adapted from Modal verb, (2016), Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_verb#cite_note-4

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 Meaning
Modal auxiliary Example
contribution

Can dynamic modality She can really sing.

Can epistemic modality That can indeed hinder.

Can deontic modality You can sing underwater.

Could dynamic modality He could swim when he was young.

Could epistemic modality That could happen soon.

May deontic modality May I stay?

May epistemic modality That may be a problem.

Might epistemic modality The weather might improve.

Must deontic modality Sam must go to school.

Must epistemic modality It must be hot outside.

Shall deontic modality You shall not pass.

Should deontic modality You should stop that.

Should epistemic modality That should be surprising.

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 Will epistemic modality She will try to lie.

Will deontic modality I will meet you later.

Would epistemic modality Nothing would accomplish that.

The verbs in this table all have fullfilled these conditions:

1. They are auxiliary verbs, which means they allow subject-auxiliary inversion and can take
the negation not,

2. They provide functional meaning,

3. They are defective insofar as they cannot be inflected, nor do they appear in non-
finite form (i.e. not as infinitives, gerunds, or participles),
4. They are nevertheless always finite and thus appear as the root verb in their clause
5. They subcategorize for an infinitive, i.e. to take an infinitive as their complement.
(Modal verb, 1)

2.4. IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE OF MODAL VERBS

Using modal verbs is not very easy in order to find the right one for the meaning the
speaker want to create and to interprete to the public. It is not only about the knowlege of all
existing modal verbs or full verbs. The speaker needs to feel the differences and the slight
nuances in meaning of the phrases. These slight differences can be unvisible for untrained
speaker and bring him many misunderstandings as in English the same phrases used in different
situations can mean a big difference. That is why it is extremely important to undertand the
modalities of the modals and use them in the proper way.

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3. MODAL VERB SHOULD
Modal verb should is not only used to refer to the past, or as a past form of shall. It
can be used as a less definite, more „tentative“ form of shall, referring to the present or the
future. In English grammar, should belongs into the group of modal auxiliaries that do not
make up a verb phrase on its own but help to make up a verb phrase in combination with a
main verb. In such combinations it is able to create a phrase of various modalities, such as
obligation, suggestions, opinions, feeings and giving advices. (Swan 1980, 549)These are only
the basic and most commonly known forms. But there are lots of other possible types of phrases
in which the modal verb should help to create untypical ranges of form.

Historically, the modals of English, which are listed in (1), were derived from a special
class of verbs in Germanic (the ancestor of English and the other Germanic languages).
(1) can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would
Modals have always differed from ordinary verbs in Germanic, and in the course of the
history of English, they have diverged from verbs even further, to the point where they now
belong to a syntactic category of their own as respecting the general attitude to their
development, researchers claim that the modal verbs each gained modal properties at a different
time of the English history. For example, the historical predecesor of today´s form of modal
shall, sculan, was relatively frequently used to express modality as early as in the early Old
English period; however, cunnan, the historical counterpart of can, is considered to have been
quite reluctant to drop its full-verb properties. Additionally, there is another widely recognized
conclusion that any process of grammaticalization, along with its subordinate auxiliarization,
is irreversible, that is, the modal verbs can never obtain their lexical meanings back. The fact
that their development is not yet completely finished is also one of the common scholarly
viewpoints. (Hogg and Denison 2008, 28)
In Hogg and Denison the situation is even more complicated with
the pairs shall/should and may/might. In earlier stages of the language, these verbs were once
used systematically just as the other two pairs still are. Verb shall written as sceal had not
the meaning of futurity as it has in present-day English, except in the occasional, and rather
literal, translation of a Latin future. As in following example from Ælfric reflecting the Latin
original:

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 “Ƅȃ dȇadan sceolon arῑsan / the dead shall arise“
Of course this example can also express, just as the present-day modal does, necessity with
the future implication. Yet, in reported speech we find examples which do not look as if they are
a copy of Latin and in which sceolde- should represents a future in the past, represented
by would.
“Hῑe ne wȇndon ðӕtte ǣfre menn sceolden swǣ reccelȇase weorðan./
They did not think that ever man would so reckless become.

In contemporary English, however, other factors make the relationship more complex. Shall,
for example, is rare apart from formal contexts, and should has developed uses that are
unrelated to its past-tense status. (Hogg and Denison 2008, 29)

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4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND HYPOTHESES
Traditionally, linguistic hypotheses are encoded as statements within a grammatical
theory and tested by collecting relevant examples and manually verifying that the grammars
correctly predict the grammaticality and linguistic structure of those examples. Even this survey
is based on collecting as much relevant information as possible and later processed into a
review of various examples proving or disproving the set hypotheses.
The core problem of this analysis will be the modal verbs shall and should and the
hypotheses are set on the basis of theoretical grammatical knowledge of facts. Below there are
given three hypotheses that should be tested.

Hypothesis 1:
There is only one possible use of modal verb shall, namely in a specific situation of polite
questions and rather rare in Modern English.

Hypothesis 2:
There are clear rules in different use of modals should and ought to in British and American
English.

Hypothesis 3:
Modal verb should used as putative should can be a complete substitute to subjunctive.

All three hypotheses are tentative and testable answers coming from general knowledge of both
tested modals. The questions and discretions included are rather „ an educated guess“ that have
to be proved.

In the final part of this thesis there is a conclusion including findings and outcomes of the
survey regarding the hypotheses and explanations of the information acquired in various
grammar books and analysis. The conclusions are results of the analysis of all the sources
mentioned in the list of reference and thus corresponing with the given actual information.

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5. PRIMARY FUNCTION OF MODAL VERB SHALL
In Oxford as well as in Cambridge dictionary modal verb shall is traditionally used as an
auxiliary verb to create future tense structures mainly for the first person. It is also used to
express that something is expected, to give a command or when asking for someone´s
opinion.
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language from Huddleston R. et al. (2002, 194-
195) differentiates usage of modal verb shall according to the type of modality it is tied with.
The deontic modality includes use of shall for the “constitutive/ regulative“ use, for “speaker´s
quarantee“ and “direction questions“. Non-deontic use of modal verb shall is connected with
will as a variant of it in expressing futurity, consequences and volition. That is a completely
different concept of differentiation from Quirk et al. (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of
English Language (Quirk et al. 1985, 213) introduces the chapter about future time with
possibility of use will/shall + infinitive as one of the means of expressing future time. It also
states that “shall is in present-day English, a rather rare modal verb and has only two uses, both
with a 1st person subject, generally current“ and used to express these types of modalities (Quirk
et al. 1985, 230):
a) prediction
The modal verb shall can be easily substituted with will according to the grammar of BrE. Its
prescriptive traditions exclude use of will as a future auxiliary with I or we, but this contention is
considered to be rather old-fashioned and is nowadays widely ignored
Ex 4. According to the preliminary results, I shall/ will win quite easily.
b) volition
The intentional nature of an action with the idea of control. Shall used in this sense creates very
formal sentences, usually with 1st person subjects (I, we) in (ex. 5). In questions containing
structures shall I/ shall we, shall represents the wishes of the addressee and in such case the
volitional meaning changes its character to the obligational, especially in offers (ex. 6).
Ex. 5 We shall/will abide by our undertakings to find additional funds.
Ex. 6 Shall I deliver your package to your office? (Do you want me to do it?)
c) obligation
According to Crystal, D. and Davy, D. (1969, 206) there is another possible usage of modal verb
shall with a 3rd person subject, nevertheless it is restricted and it occurs mostly in legal
documents. It occurs
of a legal decision or a command. (206)
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 Ex. 7 The statesmen shall meet in Bruxelles.
According to Swan, M. (1980) older English, shall was common in the 2nd and 3rd
persons when the speaker wanted to express a strong emotion (for example, in promises or
threats).
Ex. 8 You shall have an answer by tomorrow.
Ex. 9 If he´s good, he shall have a new watch for Christmas.
Ex. 10 You shall suffer for this!
This construction is still possible, but it often sounds rather old-fashioned, and we usually prefer
the use of will or to find another way of expressing the idea (e.g. I´ll make sure you suffer for
this!). (Swan 1980, 546)
Biber, D. et al. (1999) states that shall helps to express volitional meaning rather than
prediction in both academic writing and rarely in conversation. In this case it is generally used
with a 1st person subject. (Biber, D. et. al. 1999, 496-497)
Ex. 11 On this example I shall demonstrate ...
According to Swan, M. (1980) older English, shall was common in the second and third persons
when the speaker wanted to show a strong emotion (for example, in promises or threats).
Ex. 9 You shall have an answer by tomorrow.
Ex. 10 If he´s good, he shall have a new watch for Christmas.
Ex. 11 You shall suffer for this!
This construction is still possible and widely used however, it often sounds rather old-fashioned.
(Swan, M. 1980, 546)
According to Alexander, L.G. (1988, 2017) shall apart from its main use with I/we referring to
the future, can be used for permissions and may also be given by a speaker in the 2nd and 3rd
persons (formal and literary):
Ex. 12 You shall do as you please. (i.e. You have my permission to.)
Ex. 13 He shall do as he pleases. (i.e. He has my permission to.)(217)
Permission may also be denied with shan´t in BrE only.
Ex. 15 If you don´t behave yourself, you shan´t go for the disco tonight.
Ex. 16 If he doesn´t behave himself, he shan´t go out/be allowed out.(217)
Future time can be expressed by shall+infinitive.
Though the most common way of expressing futurity according to Thomson, A.J. and
Martinet, A.V. (1992, 178) and Huddleston, R. et al. (2002, 195) is the construction of will or ´ll

20
with the inifitive, shall is also sometimes used with the infinitive (especially in Southern BrE)
to indicate futurity with a 1st person subject.
Ex. 17 No doubt I shall see you in an hour. (Thomson, A.J.,Martinet, A.V. (1992, 178)
Another use denotes “future as a matter of course“. (It avoids the interpretation of volition,
intention, promise, etc. to which will, shall and be going to are liable.
Ex. 18 We´ll be flying at 30 000 feet. (Thomson, A.J.,Martinet, A.V. (1992, 178)
Spoken by the pilot of an aircraft to the passangers, the statement implies that 30 000 feet is the
normal and expected altitude for the flight. This notion stands for the use of the construction to
convey greater tact than with will/shall.
In Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1960, 188) there is also information that shall is mostly
used for determination. Determination is normally used expressed by will but sometimes public
speakers feel that to express determination they need a “heavier“ word, a word not normaly used
much, and so they say shall:
Ex. 19 We shall fight and shall win. (The speaker is promising victory.) (188)
Shall used in this way sometimes carries the idea of promise which we get in second person
shall:
Ex. 20 You shall have a sweet = I promise you a sweet. (188)
Shall can be used in this way even in ordinary coversation.
Ex. 21 I shall be there, I promise you. (188)
But will here is also possible and probably more understandable for the student. Only Thomson,
A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1960, 188) mention another possible use of shall for speculations and
requests for orders or instructions.

5.1. SHALL IN LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Considered rather old-fashioned, modal verb shall is getting less and less frequent in
modern British English. It is hardly ever used often, rather rarely, mainly to express future or in
polite questions. However, it is the most frequent used modal in language of the law. This fact
was obvious in corpora analysis of modal verbs frequency in a bachelor thesis of Radovan
Zelenka from the Zlín University, Faculty of Filology (2013). His research found out that since
shall was the most frequent verb and occurred in all of the 20 analysed original English legal
texts of both law and contract texts of approximately 2,600 words per text, together amounting to
approximately 52,000 words. The research was focused on frequency and various meanings of
particular modal verbs. Below is the whole text of his survey in legal corpora and usage of modal
verb shall, highlighted.
21
Following pie chart shows frequency of positive and negative forms of shall within the analyzed
documents. Shall ccurred in 384 cases in its positive form which represents 86% of total
occurrences, negative form occurred 59 times (14%). (Zelenka 2013, 40)

Shall/ Shall not

59/ 13%

384/87%
shall

shall not

Figure 3. Graph of shall in positive/negative form

Modal verb shall in today´s BrE and AmE is widely used to express obligation or to reflect
commands in legal language and legal corpora. Below there are few examples from various
international agreements, contracts and treaties.

❖ The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North
America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if
such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective
self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party
or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties,
such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain
the security of the North Atlantic area.(The North Atlantic Treaty, Article 5,1949)

❖ The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected through the instrumentality of
an Assembly and of a Council, with a permanent Secretariat. (Peace treaty of Versailles,
Article 2, 1919)

Shall not is used in legal language to express prohibition modality:

❖ Recipient's obligations under Paragraph 2 hereof shall not apply or shall cease to apply to
any Confidential Information.(Rayonier Confidentiality Agreement, www.rayonier.com)

As the graph (Fig. 3) depicts, the modal verb shall is the most frequently used modal verb in written
legal language. The following examples represent different modalities of shall:

To grant a right:

22
 ❖ The furnishing Party shall retain all its rights with respect to Contractor Project Background
Information agency. (CTIA: Consolidated Treaties and International Agreements, Vol. 3, 2010)

To explain the circumstances:

❖ The purpose of this Agreement shall define the terms and conditions according to which the
Orderer processes the material as follows. (Service Agreement for external users, Institute
of Clinical Medicine, University of Helsinki, http://research.med.helsinki.fi)

To express an obligation:

❖ The Student shall be obliged to keep secret all information that has come to his/her notice
during his/her training period and of which he/she should reasonably recognise the
confidential nature. (Internship Agreement, University of Twente,
https://www.utwente.nl)

The previous chapter explains the primary functions of the modal verb shall. It is obvious
that the tendency among legal writers is to omit, or replace shall with other appropriate modal
verb to make legal language more understandable. Within the scope of these suggestions there
are noted two examples of such changes in the meaning for comparison of the changed
modalities.

Ex. 22 The Members shall make their contributions…

Ex. 23 The Members must make their contributions…

(both examples from Zelenka 2013, 42)

As a conclusion, it is clear that the sentences once changed by substituting of the verb shall
or omitting it, get another modality and develop difference in meaning.

23
6. PRIMARY FUNCTION OF MODAL VERB SHOULD
Quirk, R. et al. (1985) states that central modal should is used to express two modal
meanings. The necessity meaning of should can be found in statements where the speaker does
not know if the statement is true, but claims that it is true, based on his findings or experiences.
This meaning can be termed tentative inference. Obligational sense is similar to must, but the
tone of the speaker is less emphasized.
Ex. 24 You should do as he says. (231)
According to Biber, D. et. al. (1999, 495) personal obligation is the most common meaning
of should in both conversation and academic prose. It is often used in conversation instead
of must to express obligation more politely.
Huddleston, R. et al. (2002, 200) justifies should as the preterite counterpart of shall
by the relationship between them in backshift and conditionals. Such as in these examples where
Huddleston, R. et al (2002) displays four possible use:
Ex. 25 I shall easily finish before she returns. /original utterance/
Ex. 26 I knew I should/shall easily finish before she returned. /backshifted report/
Ex. 27 If they offer met he job I shall certainly accept. /open conditional/
Ex. 28 If they offered met he job I should/shall certainly accept. /remote conditional/
Shall is inadmissible in ex. 25 constructions: it is replaced by should just as other present tense
forms are replaced by uncontroversial preterites. Thus no general account of these constructions
can be given unless should is analysed as a preterite form. (Ibid.,200-201)

6.1. SHOULD IN NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES

Ex. 29 He shouldn´t go with them. /medium internal negation/

Huddleston, R. et al. (2002, 186-188) also introduces negative interrogatives, used as questions
biased towards a positive answer, have external negation irrespective of the strength of the
modality:
Ex. 30 Shouldn´t you tell them we´ll be late? (186)
The use of modal auxiliarities in interrogatives is in general predictable from their use
in declaratives: only a few further points need be made, several of which relate to the common
use of modalised questions as indirect speech acts. Should generally has a deontic interpretation
in interrogatives:
Ex. 31 Should he go by bus? (187)

24
Because should takes internal negation, the modality is effectively outside the scope
of the question, which predicts that “he should do one of two things, go by bus or not go by bus“.
There is a special epistemic use in open interrogatives, normally with why, as in :
Ex. 32 Why should he have resigned?
This is ambiguous between a deontic reading “Why was the right thing for him to do to resign?“
and an epistemic one not predictable from the use of should in declaratives, “ Why do you
assume/think he resigned?“ (Huddleston et al. 2002, 188)

6.2. SHOULD AND THE SCOPE OF THE PERFECT

Both Huddleston and Pullum (2002, 186) and Thomson and Martinet (1960, 226) state that ought
to/should in construction with the perfect infinitive is used to express an unfulfilled obligation
or a sensible action that was neglacted. In the negative it expresses a wrong or foolish action
in the past.
Ex. 33 You ought to/ should have told him that the paint was still wet.
(Thomson and Martinet 1960, 138)

6.3. SHOULD IN FORMAL NOTICES

Modal verb should can be used in formal notices or information sheets such as :
Ex. 34 Candidates should be prepared to answer questions on…
Ex. 35 Intending travellers should be in possession of the following documents…
Ex. 36 On hearing the alarm bell, hotel guests should leave their rooms…
(Thomson and Martinet 1960, 138)

6.4. SHOULD ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF MODALITY

In its most frequent use, should expresses medium strength deontic or epistemic modality
and is generally interchangeable with ought to: (Huddleston et al. 2002, 186)

Ex. 37 You should tell your mother. /deontic/

Ex. 38 The next road on the left should be King Street. /epistemic/
Ex. 39 He should do better this time. /ambiguous/
In the deontic interpretation of ex. 37 it is a mattar of what is expected of him, whereas
in epistemic interpretation it is a matter of what I expect will happen. In the former case “I
could add but I don´t suppose he will“, while a possible continuation for the latter is judging
by the amount of training „he´s done“. Deontic should is usually subjective, indicating what
the speaker considers ‘right’- whether morally (One should always tell the truth.) or as a matter
25
of expediency (We should buy now while the market is depressed.). The expression is weaker
than must in what is allowed for non-actualisation (I should stop now but I´m not going to).
With past or present time they are commonly used when it is known that the situation
was/is not actualised, in which case they convey criticism (He shouldn´t have gone to bed so
late; You should be doing your homework instead of watcing television). One difference
between should and ought to is that only the former is normally used in issuing indirect
directives, such as instructions (The right-hand column should be left blank) „Leave the right-
hand column blank.“ (Huddleston, R. et al., 2002, 187)

Epistemic should/ought to, again usually subjective, has a strength comparable with probable,
but differs from it in that it involves inference (compare the difference between epistemic must
and certainty). This means that the concept of ‘right’ is also relevant here in Ex. 38.,.. if the next
road is not King Street, then I shall have failed to make the right inference. (188)

The deontic use of should is more basic than the epistemic use. An epistemic reading is hardly
possible with past time situations. Note, for example, the contrast between must/may and should/
ought to in (188) :

Ex. 40 She must/may have left yesterday. /epistemic/

Ex. 41 She should/ought to have left yesterday. / deontic/

More generally, there are many cases where the interpretation is purely deontic, but few
where it is purely epistemic. If you ask where the key is and the reply would be, “It should be in
the desk drawer“, there is an epistemic component in the meaning (“You´ll probably find it
there“), but there is likely to be a deontic component, too (“ If it isn´t there, it´s not in its right
place“). If sending a manuscript to a publisher the refering utterance would be, “They should
accept it“, this can have a purely deontic reading (“It would be wrong of them not to accept it“),
with no epistemic judgement as to whether they will or it can have an epistemic reading in my
expectation that they will accept is inseparable from the judgement that that is the right thing for
them to do. The primacy of deontic should/ought is also reflected in the fact that an epistemic
reading is much less likely with unfavourable situations than with favourable ones.(188)
Thus if we replace verb “accept“ by “reject“ in this last example the epistemic reading becomes
very unlikely. The primacy of the deontic use (where the situation is characteristically
in the future) may also explain why should/ought to is used epistemically in inferring
consequences from cases but not the other way round, co that they could substitute for must

26
in “He´s better now: he must be able to return to work“, but not in He´s back at work now: he
must be better.

Should/ought to normally take internal negation such as in a sentence You shouldn´t eat so
much to refrain from eating so much. There are no equivalent items taking external negation,
i.e. no items related to them as need is to must or can to epistemic may, but this is to be attributed
to the fact that with medium strength modality there tends to be no pragmatic difference between
external and internal negation.

There are several constructions, predominatly subordinate ones, where should (but not ought to)
appears with low-degree modality, i.e. with little discernible modal meaning of its own:

Ex. 42 It is essential/ desirable that he should be told. /mandative/

Ex. 43 We invited her husband too, lest he should feel left out. /adversative/

27
7. USES OF MODAL VERB OUGHT TO INSTEAD OF
SHOULD
According to Swan, M. (1980, 496) as well as Leech,G. and Svartvik, J. (2002) should and
ought to have very similar meanings. Another important fact is that should is more frequent
than ought to. However, ought to used instead of should sounds stronger, or that the intention of
the given information wasn´t just the “fact“ but the stress is on the „tone“.
Ex. 44 My mother should be here by now. (She usually arrives at this time.)
Ex. 45 My mother ought to be here by now. (She usually arrives at this time and Iam
annoyed she hasn´t arrived yet.
Both modals are used to express obligation and duty, to give advice, and in general to
say what we think it is right or good for people to do.
Ex. 46 You ought to/ should go and see ´Daughter of the Moon´- it´s a great film.
(Swan, M., 1980, 496)
In most cases, both should and ought to can be used with more or less the same meaning.
There is, however, a very slight difference. By using should, there is expressed one´s own
subjective opinion; ought to has a rather more objective force, and is used in legal language
most often in laws, duties and regulations (or when we want to make our opinion sound as strong
as a duty or law). Let´s compare these two sentences:
Ex. 47 You should/ought to go and see Mary some time. (Both modals possible.)(496)
Ex. 48 We ought to go and see Mary tomorrow, but I don´t think we will. (Should
doesn´t sound right here. It would be strange to give oneself advice and say that one was
not going to follow it.)(496)
Should and ought to can also be used to talk about logical probability.
Ex. 49 I´ve bought three loaves- that should/ ought to be enough. (496)
Ex. 50 That should/ought to be Janet coming upstairs now. (496)
Should and ought to are here used to talk about the present and future, not the past.
A big mistake would be: “The taxi should arrive at 8:30, but it didn´t turn up. “
As to talk about things which did not happen, although they were supposed to, we use should
or ought to with the perfect infinitive, ort he was to construction.
Ex. 50 The taxi should/ ought to have arrived at 8:30…(496)
or
Ex. 51 The taxi was to arrive/ have arrived at 8:30…(496)

28
However, according to Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1980, 99-100) should and ought to
are used for obligation and normally have the same meaning but should is more usual form.
In conversation should/ought to can often be used alone, the infinitive being understood but not
mentioned:
Ex. 52 A: You should paint/ ought to paint your door.
B: Yes, I know I should/ I know I ought to. (100)
Ought to and should can express advice as in:

Ex. 53 You ought to/should read this. It´s very good. (100)

But for more emphatic advice must is better:

Ex. 54 You must read this. It´s marvellous! (Thomson, A.J., Martinet, A.V., 1992, 100)

Ought to/ should with the continuous infinitive expresses the idea that the subject is not fulfilling
his obligations or that he is acting foolishly, rashly etc. Or not acting sensibly, prudently etc.:
Ex. 55 He ought to be studing for his exam. He shouldn´t be spending all his time on
the beach. (100)
To sum it up, ought to is used in three main ways to express that something is the right thing to
do, because it is morally correct, polite, or it is someone´s duty. It is also used for predicting
that something is likely or expected to happen, based on the logic. The last use is to offer or ask
for advice or recommendations. Modal verb should can substitute ought to in all these
possibilities, however use of ought to instead of should gives the utterance sense of strickness
and in some cases a bigger stress leads to ironical colouring.

29
8. MODAL VERB SHOULD AS ALTERNATIVE TO THE
SUBJUNCTIVE

Swan, M. (1980, 580) defines the subjunctive as the name of a special group of verb - forms
(e.g. I were, she be, he return) which are used in a few cases to talk about events which are not
certain to happen- which we hope will happen, or imagine might happen, or want to happen.
Ex. 56 If I were rich I wouldn´t work at all.
Ex. 57 It is vital that she be warned before it is too late.
Ex. 58 The judge recommended that he not be released for at least three years.
The subjunctive is not very common in modern British English, and is used mostly in formal
style. Ideas of this kind are usually expressed in other ways. One of such ways is should +
infinitive. (580)
Ex. 59 The committee recommended that the company should invest in new
property.
And in conversational English, other structures would probably be used (e.g. …recommended
the company to invest…). In American English, these subjunctive structures are quite common
in a formal style, but in infomal conversation Americans would probably also find different ways
of expressing the ideas. (580)
Greenbaum, S. et. al (1990) states that the structure should + infinitive is equivalent
to the “mandative subjunctive“, where the speaker entertains should as it were some “putative
world“, recognizing that it may well exist or come into existence. And also states that putative
should is more common in BrE than AmE, seems to be increasing in BrE (In BrE the alternatives
are putative should and the indicative).
Ex. 60 She insisted that we should stay.(67)
Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1960) also states that in should + infinitive construction
when the infinitive is be, the should is sometimes omitted:
Ex. 61 He suggested that a petition (should) be drawn up.
And the infinitive thus left alone becomes subjunctive itself. Very often used in poetry, either
to express a wish or in clauses of condition or concession:
Ex. 62 (Shakespeare) If this be error, and upon me proved…
Ex. 63 (Byron) Though the heart be still as loving…
Used only in formal BrE. (253)

30
 8.1. IF REPLACED BY SHOULD

Greenbaum, S. et.al (1990, 318) denotes that there are two ways of expressing future
hypothetical conditions occasionally used in formal contexts. They have overtones of
tentativeness:
a) was to or were to followed by the infinitive (subjunctive were):
Ex. 64 If it was/ were to rain, the ropes would snap. They´re far too tight.
b) should followed by the infinitive (putative should):
Ex. 65 If a serious crisis should arise, the public would have to be informed of its full
implications. (318)
c) conditional clauses may have subject-operator inversion without a subordinator if the operator
is were, should, and especially had:
Ex. 65 Had I known, I would have written before. / If I had known,…
Ex. 66 Should you change your mind, no one would blame you.
Ex. 67 Should she be interested, I ´ll phone her. (with present subjunctive be)(318)

However, Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1992) states that if + should can be used in
conditional sentences type 1 to indicate that the action, though possible, is not very likely. It is
usually combined with an imperative and is chiefly used in written instructions than in daily
conversations:
Ex. 68 If you should have any difficulty in getting spare parts, ring this number.(21)
Ex. 69 If these biscuits should arrive in a damaged condition, please inform the
factory at once.(21)
Should can be replaced first and the if omitted (in formal BrE):
Ex. 70 Should these biscuits arrive in damaged condition,please….(21)

8.2 PUTATIVE SHOULD

Not many grammar books refer to the “putative should” as to a new grammar
phenomenon. Probably it is because it is not a phenomenon for the native speakers but rather a
way how foreign learners call the positioning of should into that-clauses expressing
such a mood of the verb when the speaker does not have direct evidence of what he is
referring about, but his relation to the information is based on something else. Actually, it is
mostly interpreted as one of the possible use of modal verb should or it is given into connection
with subjunctive and most grammarians incorporate constructions of that + should into other use
of modal verb should helping to express various types of formalism.
31
 This is also the case of A Practical English Grammar (Thomson, A.J., Martinet, A.V.,
1985, 152) where is stated that “that - should is more formal than a gerund or infinitive
construction and usually implies less direct contact between the advisers/organizers etc. and the
people who are to carry out the action. Verbs which can be used with that - should include the
following: advise, agree, arrange, ask, beg, command, decide, demand determine insist, order,
propose, recommend, request, stipulate, suggest, urge.“ Authors of this grammar book don´t
mention the term “putative should“ at all, the explanation is included in the Chapter 22

“Other uses of will/would, shall/ should“ . Although the Cambridge Grammar of the English
Language from Huddleston, R. et al (2002, 187) talks about should used in “low-degree
modality“ and use a term “mandative should“ where should is “grammaticalised in that it
combines as readily with items of strong modality (necessary, essential, imperative, etc.) as with
those of medium strength (desirable, advisable, right, etc.). It further adds a term of “emotive
should” occuring in utterances “ with predicative lexemes indicating surprise or evaluation: odd,
remarkable, surprising, good, a pity, etc.” And that this “emotive should” is used in “rhetorical
questions” such as “I was walking in the park and who should I meet but Claire!” (188)

Neverheless, there are few authors that mention “putative should” and try to define it and
give some examples. According to Greenbaum et. al (1990), the “putative should” is used “…in
that-clauses to convey the notion of a ‘putative’ situation, which is recognized as possibly
existing or coming into existence.” The specification putative originates from the Latin verb
putare, and can be translated as considered. (67)

Ex. 71 She disputed (that) I should feel that way.

Ex. 72 It`s quite suspect (that) you should mention that.
Ex. 73 It´s funny that you should find this practice unfair since you used them too.

In ex. 71 and 72 the speaker didn´t believe the saying, however in ex. 73 the speaker “ironically”
states the fact.

A Communicative Grammar of English (Leech, G., Svartvik, J., 2002, 149-150) claims that
“putative should” is a type of a use of should when the speaker is more interested in the “idea” of
the utterance than in the “ factual meaning ”. Similarly Greenbaum, S. et al. (1990)
differentiates between two types of “putative should” utterances according to the expressions in
the main clause. Either referring to some kind of “emotional reaction” (ex.74) or to expression of
“… the notions of necessity, plan or intention for the future“ (75).

Ex. 74 Oh, it´s so surprising you should come.

32
 Ex. 75 They have planned that our division should control finances.

Moreover, Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (2002) discuss the “emotional tone” given to the sentence
similar to Huddleston, R. et al (2002, 187) mentioning “ emotional should” .

Ex. 76 Why should he have to leave the university?

Ex. 77 He has urged that private guns should be banned.(Leech et al. 2002, 149)

Another explanation describes the pragmatics of the speech act: “In using should, the speaker
entertains, as it were, some ‘putative’ world, recognizing that it may well exist or come into
existence.” (Quirk et al. (1985)).

Although the Cambridge Grammar (Huddleston, R., 2002) mentions two types of should
in that-clauses: referring to situations which might happen in the future as in ex. 78 and
emotional comments on activity that already happened in ex. 79 and ex. 80:

Ex. 78 It seems good that it should work but Iam not sure about the quality.
Ex. 79 I`m surprised that he should be promoted with his low education degree.
Ex. 80 I`m sorry that she should think of me that way.

In ex. 78 the factual meaning of that+ should clause it refers into the future however it still can
refer even into the past. However, ex. 79 includes the “emotional tone” in the clause “ I´m
surprised that he should be promoted” and it refers into the future. The past could be expressed
with the use of should+ have been +verb. The ex. 80 also includes the “emotional tone” but it
states the present state or the possibility in the future. From all these examples there is obvious
that the idea and the tone intended is based on the choice of the most suitable adjectives of
emotional comments or expressions that are prospective for the future or are indicating the
future plans.

The webpages grammar.about.com as well as thought.co offers rather detailed definition

of the putative should though it is based on references and citations from various grammar books
such as Quirk, R. (1985) or Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (1994). In addition
thought.co cites interesting examples of use of should in various historical texts or works of
famous actors.

Ex. 81”It seems a great shame you should have to pay for what Albert and
Clara did.” (Arnold Bennett, These Twain, 1915)

33
 Ex. 82 “It is surprising that you should find this practice shocking, since you
French cut off the heads of your King and Queen.”
(Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia,
1941)

Ex. 83 "Peter Walsh, who had done just respectably, filled the usual posts
adequately, was liked, but thought a little cranky, gave himself airs--it
was odd that he should have had, especially now that his hair was
grey, a contented look; a look of having reserves."
(Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, 1925)

All three examples above are excerpts from works where “putative should” are used in
connection with various clauses or adjectives.“The adjectives anxious, eager, and willing are
followed by a that-clause with putative should or the subjunctive. Adjectives with 'concepts
concerned with modality or volition'“ (Quirk et al 1985: 1224) also belong to this group. The
most commonly used verbs are appropriate, essential, important, vital. Adjectives which can be
followed by a verb phrase in the that-clause with either an indicative verb phrase or one with
putative should express emotions. Examples are afraid, angry, hopeful, inconceivable, odd, sad,
sorry, surprised, surprising.“

To sum it up, “putative should” has still its position in BrE and is concistently used
more frequently than the “mandative subjunctive” in AmE. However, the “mandative
subjunctive” as a feature of AmE may displace the “putative should” in the far future as
the AmE is very aggressive. According to Visser, F.T. (1966) “it was putative should that was
used almost exclusively in the earlier period, and it was not until the years between 1930 and
1950 that the mandative subjunctive became more dominant than putative should, and that this
subjunctive began to be used more frequently.” (843)

In recent years however, “the mandative subjunctive” has come to be used almost
exclusively only in AmE, which, does not mean that “putative should“ is not used in current
AmE. Visser, F.T. (1966) only mentions an interesting question “ why did the mandative
subjunctive come to be used more frequently, seemingly all of a sudden in the twentieth century
?” The answer may be “ that in AmE the mandative subjunctive must have been preserved in
spoken use, and that it revived in a written form in the United States at the beginning of the
twentieth century, probably because at that time there existed many otber types of subjunctives
than the mandative subjunctive“. (843)

34
 Whatever was the real reason why the “putative should“ survived in BrE and the
“mandative should“ is widely and likely used in AmE there are clear some tendencies coming
from the characteristic concepts of both types of the languages. AmE tends to use simple
forms, structures with immediate effect and without delay. It reflects the American way of life
and economical principles. Qick response is more effective, more fashionable. On the other
hand BrE refects the conservative attitudes of British culture and economy. The history is still a
great part of every British and that is probably the reason why “putative should” will survive as a
part of the tradition.

35
9. OTHER USES OF MODAL VERB SHOULD

Swan, M. (1980) states that should is often used in subordinate clauses after in case, and
sometimes after if as it makes an event sound less probable.
Ex. 84 I´ll get some beer in case Aunt Mary comes. (She may come.)(552)
Ex. 85 I´ll get some beer in case Aunt Mary should come. (She might come.)(552)
However, Thomson, A. J. and Martinet, A.V. (1960) denote that in case, which is more usual
than lest, can be followed by should or by an ordinary present or past tense:
Ex. 86 In case someone should ask/ someone asked. (210)
Moreover, Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1960) add that in literary English lest…should is
sometimes placed after expressions of fear or anxiety:
Ex. 87 He was terrified lest he should slip on the icy rocks. (211)
Swan, M. (1980) further states that in British English, the structure If+subject+should+verb is
often replaced by should+subject+verb.
Ex. 88 Should you see Harry, give him my regards. (552)
Should is very common in sentences about the past with in case. (Swan, M., 552)
Ex. 89 I took some meal, in case I should have been hungry.
Should can be also used in subordinate clauses when expressing the idea that something must
be done, or is important. This happens after verbs like command, order, insist, request, ask,
suggest, advise, recommend (especially in past sentences), and after adjectives like important,
vital, essential, necessary, eager, anxious, concerned. (555)
Ex. 90 He insisted that he should bet he boss of the gang.
Ex. 91 I recommended that she should take care of all children.
Ex. 92 Was it necessary that you should shout at us?
Ex. 93 Mom is anxious that nobody should be hungry.
Ideas of this kind can also be expressed with the subjunctive (especially in American English),
or in other, simpler ways.
Ex. 94 Was it necessary that he should spend all his money?
Ex. 95 Was it necessary to spend all his money? (Or:…for him to spend all his
money?)
Should is also used in subordinate clauses in sentences where we express personal
reactions to events (for instance, with words like amazing, interesting, shocked, sorry, normal,

36
natural, it´s a shame). In these cases, too, should is more common in past sentences. The
subjunctive is not possible here instead of should. (552)

Ex. 96 It´s astonishing that he should build his house himself.

Ex. 97 They were shocked that their children shouldn´t have invited them on their
wedding.
Ex. 98 I´m sorry you should be sad about my accident.
Sentences like these can be made without should. (I was shocked that she hadn´t invited Phyllis;
I´m sorry you think…).(555)
Only Swan, M. (1980) denotes that should is also used in past sentences with so that and
in order that.
Ex. 99 He turned the stereo down very low so that he shouldn´t disturb the old lady
downstairs. (Or:…in order that he shouldn´t…) (561)
Swan (1980) also states that should after why can express inability to understand.
Ex. 100 Why should it get colder when you go up a mountain? You are getting
nearer to the sun.
Why should …? And How should…? can also express irritation and anger. (554)
Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1960) however denotes that should is also used after
can´t think why/ don´t know why/see no reason why etc. when the speaker queries the
reasonableness or justice of an assumption:
Ex. 101 I don´t know why you should go there when you hate it.
Idiomatically, should is used with what, where and who in dramatic expressions of surprise:
Ex. 102 What should she heard but nasty words!
Quite often the surprise is embarrassing:
Ex. 103 Who should get drunk but his own wife!
Only Thomson, A.J. and Martinet, A.V. (1992) mentions that should is sometimes used in
purpose clauses as an alternative to would/could:
Ex. 104 He wore a mask so that no one should recognize him.(211)

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10. INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

This chapter summarizes the outcomes of the survey and displays the answers to three
hypotheses given at the beginning of the survey.
Hypothesis 1
There is only 1 possible use of modal verb shall, namely in a specific situation of polite
questions and rather rare in Modern English.
It was not confirmed, as the modal verb shall is still used not only in polite
questions, but also in legal language as well as in legal documents, such as legal acts,
treaties and agreements according to the analysis of legal corpora.
Furthermore, shall is largely used for expressing of determination instead of modal
will when public speakers need a “heavier“ word to sound more sharp or punchy.
Shall is widely used in BrE, especially in Southern BrE, for expressing future time
as a matter of course.
Hypothesis 2
There are clear rules about different use of modals should and ought to in British
and American English.
The hypothesis was wrong, as in BrE should and ought to have very similar
meanings. Both modals are usually used to express duty, obligation or to give advice, and in
general to say what we think is right or good for people to do.
The difference in should/ ought to is stated as “small“, however most of the
grammariens state that by using should we give our own subjective opinion, whereas ought
to has a rather more objective force, and mostly used when talking about laws, duties and
regulations. However, in AmE ought to is not used any more or very rarely.
Hypothesis 3
Modal verb should used as putative should can be a complete substitute to subjunctive.
This hypothesis was not proven, as subjunctive is rather rarely used in modern BrE,
especially in formal language. In AmE subjunctive structures are quite common in formal as
well as in informal language; however, in AmE subjunctive structures in informal language
tend to be omitted.
In addition, putative should is more common in BrE than AmE and seems to have increasing
tendency in BrE together with indicative.

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11. CONCLUSION

The main aim of this thesis was to collect and summarize information about the modal
verb should in few grammar books considered to be of the highest quality among
grammarians. Furthermore, there were set 3 hypotheses to be confirmed or disproved. The
findings from this compilation brought interesting facts and surprising conclusions. There
have been inspected more than 14 grammar books and more than 6 well acknowledged web
pages concerning English grammar with the main objective i.e. to compile a synoptical
overview about all possible usage of modal verb should hereto explain its coherence and
linkup with modal verb shall and ought to.

Not all grammar books offer more than the basic information about each of above
mentioned modals thus were not considered for the further survey. On the contrary, few
grammar books offer so many details they are mentioned more often throughout the whole
analysis. There have been mentioned 2 bachelor theses whose topic deal with above
mentioned modal verbs and provide valuable analysis thus were considered to be hight
quality source for this thesis. These theses were included in chapters about putative should
and shall in legal documents which added this thesis another perspective.

All books cited are used for everyday usage of students and teachers of English
language and so even this thesis shouldn´t be just a compilation of theoretical facts but a
cross-section of actual curriculum on the given topic. Just as the technology developes, the
language evolves and many syntactic structures as well as linguistic features become rare or
die out there are some that come into being and become usual or even typical and famous.
This thesis is a nice example of this theory.

The survey shows how modal verb shall died out in an informal way of expressing in
everyday life while in formal language of lawyers and politicians it is very usual and still in
favour. Modal verb should is not only used as a past form of modal verb shall but found it´s
assertion for expressing duty or obligation, necessity, future hypothetical condition and
even futurity. It is the only modal verb that can be used in so many different and
noncontinuous structures and help to express so many diverse moods as no other modal
verb.

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