should
Formsshould, shoulding, shoulded
Formsshould, shoulding, shoulded
Pluralshoulds
- 1Used to say or ask what is right, advisable, or required, or what would have been right in the past.
You should try the fish here.
He should have apologized straight away.
UsageFollowed by the bare verb: you should go (not
incorrect: should to go). For regret, should have gone.Similarought to
Note
Old English sċolde was the past of sċulan, 'to have to, to owe', and the debt still shows. Advice framed this way says an action is owed to good sense. Backed by a rule or a manual, it gives a polite instruction, as in 'passengers should remain seated'.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Old English sċolde was a past-tense form of sċulan, meaning ‘to have to, to owe’. en.wiktionary.org
- 2Used to say that something is probably true, has probably happened, or will probably happen.
The paint should dry in an hour.
It should be a good match.
Similarought to
Note
Instructions lean on it for expected results, as in 'after a minute the light should turn green.' Social replies use it for polite optimism: 'That should be fun.' The same expectation can be aimed at the present, as in 'they should be home by now'.
- 3Used in place of a subjunctive: in conditions for something that may happen, after words of demanding or proposing, and after expressions of surprise or regret about a fact.
Should the alarm sound, leave the building at once.
It is odd that he should say that.
UsageFormal conditions drop if and put should first: Should you need help, call us.
Note
Three constructions share this grammar. The formal condition inverts and drops if: 'should you need a taxi'. After words of proposing, it can be left out for the bare subjunctive: 'she insisted that he (should) leave'. After regret or surprise it marks a reaction: 'sad that it should end this way'. In conditions it matches a plain present: if you should need one means if you need one.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Conditional should expresses a possible contingency; subjunctive were marks a hypothetical or counterfactual condition. They are not generally interchangeable. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meanings
- 4Used with 'see', 'hear' and similar verbs, usually after 'you', to point out something remarkable, good or bad.
You should see the queue outside the bakery.
You should hear her sing.
UsageUsually you should see or you should hear, as an exclamation: you should have seen it!
Note
Advice turned exclamation: nobody is actually being sent to look. A common frame sets up a comparison first and then tops it, as in 'if you think his driving is scary, you should see him park!' It works for praise as readily as complaint.
- 5Used with I instead of would to give advice, saying what the speaker would do in the listener's place.
I should get that looked at, if I were you.
If I were in your shoes, I should wait a day or two before answering an email like that.
UsageOften with if I were you. I would is the more familiar choice.
Similarwould
Note
Advice delivered as a personal choice: 'I should call the bank' means 'in your place, I would'. Without that frame, a listener may take it as the speaker's own plan, or as direct advice. 'I would' is the more familiar alternative.
- 6Used with I or we instead of 'would', in conditions or to sound tentative or polite. Formal or old-fashioned outside set phrases like 'I should think'.
I should be grateful if you could confirm.
I should think the shops are shut by now.
UsageOften in I should think or I should imagine, or in formal letters: I should be grateful if.
Similarwould
Note
A hedge in the first person: 'I should think' offers an opinion while stepping back from certainty. 'I should be very grateful' is a set formula of formal letters. The same first-person should can also state a conditional outcome, as in 'I should be lost without her'.
- 7Simple past of shall: a reported or past-tense future, used with I and we. Now dated.
I was astonished at this polite offer, which my modesty induced me to ascribe more to my uniform than to my own merits, and, as I felt no inclination to refuse the compliment, I said that I should be most happy.
1833, [Frederick Marryat], Peter SimpleI told him that I should be busy tomorrow.
Note
This is the reported-speech past of the first-person future. When a speaker once said 'I shall arrive on Monday', the report became 'I said that I should arrive on Monday'. The narrator of Marryat's Peter Simple 'said that I should be most happy'. Like shall, it takes no -s and has no participles. Outside a reporting frame, readers may hear the advice meaning instead.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Frederick Marryat wrote Peter Simple. gutenberg.org
- The novel's first-person narrator uses the exact words 'said that I should be most happy'. gutenberg.org
- 8Something a person feels they ought to do or be, as opposed to what is really the case, usually in the plural.
Therapy taught him to question every should in his head.
We made a list of shoulds and shouldn'ts.
UsageOften paired: shoulds and shouldn'ts, or with woulds and coulds.
Similarobligation, expectation, must, duty
- 9To keep telling someone, or oneself, what they should do, often in a nagging or guilt-inducing way.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
"Should" comes from Middle English "scholde," from Old English "sċolde," the past tense of "sċulan" ("to have to, to owe"), the ancestor of "shall." It is related to German "sollte" and Swedish "skulle," and its /l/ probably fell silent through weak stress, as in "would."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- Should derives from Middle English scholde and Old English sċolde. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English sċolde was a past-tense form of sċulan. en.wiktionary.org
- Sċulan meant to have to and to owe. en.wiktionary.org
- Sċulan is the ancestor of shall. en.wiktionary.org
- Should is related to German sollte and Swedish skulle. en.wiktionary.org
- The loss of /l/ probably resulted from weak stress, as in would. en.wiktionary.org