should
Americanauxiliary verb
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must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency).
You should not do that.
All of this is irresponsible alarmism and should be dismissed as such.
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(used to express an expectation).
They should arrive around dinner time.
The paper you need should be in the drawer.
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(used to express a correction).
In your first sentence, that semicolon should be a comma.
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(used to express a potential future event or condition).
Were he to arrive, I should be pleased.
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would (used to make a statement less direct or blunt).
I should think you would apologize.
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simple past tense of shall.
noun
verb
Usage
Should has, as its most common meaning in modern English, the sense ought as in I should go to the graduation, but I don't see how I can. However, the older sense of the subjunctive of shall is often used with I or we to indicate a more polite form than would: I should like to go, but I can't. In much speech and writing, should has been replaced by would in contexts of this kind, but it remains in formal English when a conditional subjunctive is used: should he choose to remain, he would be granted asylum
Commonly Confused
Rules similar to those for choosing between shall and will have long been advanced for should and would, but again the rules have had little effect on usage. In most constructions, would is the auxiliary chosen regardless of the person of the subject: If our allies would support the move, we would abandon any claim to sovereignty. You would be surprised at the complexity of the directions. Because the main function of should in modern American English is to express duty, necessity, etc. ( You should get your flu shot before winter comes ), its use for other purposes, as to form a subjunctive, can produce ambiguity, at least initially: I should get my flu shot if I were you. Furthermore, should seems an affectation to many Americans when used in certain constructions quite common in British English: Had I been informed, I should (American would ) have called immediately. I should (American would ) really prefer a different arrangement. As with shall and will, most educated native speakers of American English do not follow the textbook rule in making a choice between should and would. See also shall.
Related Words
See must 1.
Etymology
Origin of should
Middle English sholde, Old English sc(e)olde; shall
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The guidelines, maintained by the American Geriatrics Society and named the “Beers Criteria” after the doctor who first led their development, suggest some drugs should almost never be taken by older patients.
They warn, for instance, that seniors should minimize the number of drugs they take simultaneously that affect the central nervous system, including gabapentin.
Among the seniors in the Journal analysis who were taking eight or more drugs, 3.6 million had prescriptions for at least one medication that geriatricians say elderly patients should generally avoid.
More than 310,000 of the benzodiazepine patients also received muscle relaxants, another type of drug the Beers guidelines say seniors should avoid.
The analysis also examined how many patients were prescribed at least one drug that the American Geriatrics Society’s Beers Criteria says should be broadly avoided in seniors.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
