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Should
Definitions
- 1 Something that ought to be the case as opposed to already being the case. auxiliary, defective, modal
"When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too."
- 1 simple past of shall form-of, past
"I told him that I should be busy tomorrow."
- 2 Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable.; Used to issue an instruction (traditionally seen as carrying less force of authority than alternatives such as 'shall' or 'must'). auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"You should never drink and drive."
- 3 To make a statement of what ought to be true, as opposed to reality. auxiliary, defective, modal
- 4 Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable.; Used to give advice or opinion that an action is, or would have been, beneficial or desirable. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"You should go and see that film. I think you'll enjoy it."
- 5 To suggest (that someone ought to do something, or that something ought to be the case) by, or as if by, using the word should. auxiliary, defective, modal
"I'd prefer that she stop shoulding me. I prefer that I stop shoulding me. I prefer that I stop shoulding her."
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- 6 Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable.; With verbs such as 'see' or 'hear', usually in the second person, used to point out something remarkable in either a good or bad way. auxiliary, defective, informal, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"You should see his new apartment. It's like a palace!"
- 7 Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable.; In questions, asks what is correct, proper, desirable, etc. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"What do you think? What should I do?"
- 8 Ought to; expressing expectation.; Indicates that something is expected to have happened or to be the case now. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"They should have finished by now; I'll call them to check."
- 9 Ought to; expressing expectation.; Will be likely to (become or do something); indicates a degree of possibility or probability that the stated thing will happen or be true in the future. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"They should have it finished by Friday."
- 10 Used to form a variant of the present subjunctive, expressing a state or action that is hypothetical, potential, mandated, etc. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past, subjunctive
"If I should be late, I should hope that you are prepared to go on without me."
- 11 An alternative to would with first person subjects.; Used to express a conditional outcome. auxiliary, defective, formal, literary, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"If I had not been so tired, I should have laughed heartily."
- 12 An alternative to would with first person subjects.; Used to impart a tentative, conjectural or polite nuance. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"I should imagine that they have arrived by now."
- 13 An alternative to would with first person subjects.; Used to express what the speaker would do in another person's situation, as a means of giving a suggestion or recommendation. auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle, past
"It's disgraceful the way that they've treated you. I should write and complain."
Etymology
From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
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