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"Should" Fucntions
"Should" Fucntions
should
Should is an auxiliary verb - a modal auxiliary verb. We use should mainly to:
Structure of should
The basic structure for should is:
Note that:
The auxiliary verb should is invariable. There is only one form: should
The main verb is usually in the base form (He should go).
Look at the basic structure again, with positive, negative and question sentences:
should
base
SUBJECT auxiliary NOT main verb
+ He should work.
? Should we help?
The main verb can never be the to-infinitive. We cannot say: He should to go.
There is no short form for should, but we can shorten the negative should not to
shouldn't.
Use of should
People often say "They should...do sthg." Usually, the "they" is anonymous and
means the government, or the company, or somebody else - but not us! Here are
some examples:
This is not a very important distinction. (More about the use of shall/will and
should/would.)
Note that we can omit "If I were you..." and just say:
I should complain to the manager.
I shouldn't worry about it.
I shouldn't say anything.
In these cases, the phrase "I should" really means something like "you should".
Why should..? and How should..? can also indicate anger or irritation:
A: Help me with this. B: Why should I?
A: Where are my keys? B: How should I know?