SHOULD/SHOULDN’T(should not)
- Recommendation/give advice/opinion.
“You should study a bit more” (recommendation)
“Anna looks stressed. She should go away for a few days” (giving advice)“I’ve got to work tomorrow…. should we order one more drink? (asking for advice)
“Do you think I should apply for that job?” (asking for opinion)
- The right/wrong thing to do.
“We should deal with this problem asap”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet”
“He shouldn’t be driving that fast”
- Uncertain prediction.
“He should be home soon but I’m not sure”
“Mary should be at the gym now”
- Used when we expect something to happen.
“My cousin has been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass” – I expect her to pass.
“There are plenty of hotels in the city. It shouldn’t be hard to find accommodation” – I don’t expect it to be hard.
- Should (not) have + past participle = when you mean something (in the past) was a good idea, but you didn’t do it OR when you mean something (in the past) wasn’t a good idea, but you did it anyway.
“There are no tickets left. You should have bought them yesterday”
“Chocolate is better. I shouldn’t have chosen strawberry”
- It can be used after: insist/recommend/suggest/demand/propose.
it’s important/vital/necessary/essential that…should…
“I insisted that he should apologise” – I insisted that he apologise.
“Doctors recommend that everybody should eat fruit” – Doctors recommend that everybody eat fruit.
“What do you suggest we should do?” – What do you suggest we do?
“It’s essential that everyone should be here on time” – It’s essential that everyone be here on time.
‘should’ can be dropped because this is the subjunctive.
- It can be used after: strange/odd/funny/typical/natural/interesting/surprised/surprising.
“It’s strange that he should be late. He’s usually on time”
“It’s funny that you should say the same thing. I was going to say the same thing”
“I was surprised that they should ask me for advice”