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Should is a modal verb like can or must.
Positives
You should take it easy.
She should go to bed early.
We should go somewhere exciting for our holiday.

Negatives
You shouldn't get angry.
He shouldn't work so much.
I shouldn't do it if I were you.

Questions
Should we __________?
What should I do?
Shouldn't we try to finish it now?

Exercise. Chose should or shouldn't.

1. You ______ be so selfish.
shouldn't

2. I don't think you ______ smoke so much.
should

3. You ______ exercise more.
should

4. I think you ______ try to speak to her.
should

5. You are overweight. You ______ go on a diet.
should

6. Where ______ we park our car?
should

7. You ______ never speak to your mother like this.
should

8. The kids ______ spend so much time in front of the TV.
shouldn't

9. ______ I ___________________________________?
should

10. I think we ______ reserve our ______ in advance.
should

Should

We use 'should' for giving advice.

You should speak to him about it.
He should see a doctor.
We should ask a lawyer.

We use 'should' to give an opinion or a recommendation.
He should resign.
He should resign now.
We should invest more in Asia.
They should do something about this terrible train service.

'Should' expresses a personal opinion and is much weaker and more personal than 'must' or 'have to'. It is often introduced by ' I think'.

I think they should replace him.
I don't think they should keep the contract.
Do you think I should ______ her?

We do not use shouldn't where there isn't any obligation at all.
Instead we use don't have to or don't need to.

We use should and shouldn't to give advice or to talk about what we think is right or wrong.

Should

Should is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use should mainly to:

  • give advice or make recommendations
  • talk about obligation
  • talk about probability and expectation
  • express the conditional mood
  • replace a subjunctive structure

Structure of Should

subject + should + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

 subjectauxiliary verbmain verb
+Heshouldgo.
-Heshould notgo.
shouldn't
?Shouldhego?

Notice that:

  • Should is invariable. There is only one form of should.
  • The main verb is always the bare infinitive.
English Club Tip
There is no short form for should. The negative should not can be shortened to shouldn't.
English Club Tip
The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:
You should to go.

Use of Should

should: Giving advice, opinions

We often use should when offering advice or opinions (similar to ought to):

EC TIP: People often say "They should..." Usually, the "they" is anonymous and means the government, or the company, or somebody else - but not us!
  • You should see the new James Bond movie. It's great!
  • You should try to lose weight.
  • John should get a haircut.
  • He shouldn't smoke. And he should stop drinking too.
  • What should I wear?
  • They should make that illegal.
  • There should be a law against that.
  • People should worry more about global warming.

should: Obligation, duty, correctness

Another use of should (also similar to ought to) is to indicate a kind of obligation, duty or correctness, often when criticizing another person:

  • You should be wearing your seat belt. (obligation)
  • I should be at work now. (duty)
  • You shouldn't have said that to her. (correctness)
  • He should have been more careful.
  • Should you be driving so fast?

should: Probability, expectation

We use should to indicate that we think something is probable (we expect it to happen):

  • Are you ready? The train should be here soon.
  • $10 is enough. It shouldn't cost more than that.
  • Let's call Mary. She should have finished work by now.

should: Conditionals

We sometimes use should (instead of would) for the first person singular (I) and first person plural (we) of some conditionals:

  • If I lost my job I should have no money.
    (If he lost his job he would have no money.)
  • We should be grateful if you could send us your latest catalogue.

This is not a very important distinction. (More about the use of shall/will and should/would.)

should: (If I were you I should...)

We often use the conditional structure "If I were you I should..." to give advice.

  • If I were you, I should complain to the manager.
  • If I were you I shouldn't worry about it.
  • I shouldn't say anything if I were you.

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".

should: Pseudo subjunctive

We often use a special verb form called the subjunctive when talking about events that somebody wants to happen, hopes will happen or imagines happening, for example:

  • The president insists that the prime minister attend the meeting.

However, this is much more common in American English. British English speakers would probably convey the same idea using should:

  • The president insists that the prime minister should attend the meeting.

Here are some more examples:

Subjunctive
typically American English
Using should
typically British English
The president is insisting that pollution be reduced.The president is insisting that pollution should be reduced.
The manager recommended that Mary join the company.The manager recommended that Mary should join the company.
It is essential that we decide today.It is essential that we should decide today.
It was necessary that everyone arrive on time.It was necessary that everyone should arrive on time.