Should
'Should' is a modal verb which is used to give advice.
Let's look at some verbs first.
Vocabulary - nouns
Vocabulary - adjective
Should - Examples
I feel ill.
You should go to the doctors.
'Should' is a modal verb and gives advice to the subject.
Subject + should + present form verb + noun / noun phrase
We should take photographs.
We should take photographs in London.
+ LOCATION CHUNK!
We should take a lot of photographs in London.
A number before the noun tells you 'how many'. 'A lot' = many.
We should take a lot of photographs of London.
'of' is used to say what you will photograph.
+FREQUENCEY CHUNK!
We should take a lot of photographs of London every day.
We should buy tickets.
We should buy tickets for the underground.
'for' is used to indicate the purpose of the tickets.
We should buy tickets to see a play.
Click here for a lesson on 'purpose'
The reason to 'buy tickets' is added by using another verb.
Subject + should + present tense verb + noun / noun phrase + purpose chunk
We + should + buy + tickets + to go on a roller-coaster
We should buy tickets to go on a roller-coaster.
We + should + buy + a guide book + to read on holiday
We should buy a guide book to read on holiday.
We + should + go to + a pub + to try traditional beer
We should go to a pub to try traditional beer.
Should - exercises
underground / the / You / should / take
Answer
You should take the underground.
Buckingham Palace / buy / for / tickets / We / should
Answer
We should buy tickets for Buckingham Palace.
'For' is used because the purpose is to go to Buckingham Palace.
should / photographs / take / Changing of the Guard / of / We / the
Answer
We should take photographs of the Changing of the Guard.
a lot of / Tower Bridge / photographs / take / We / should / of
Answer
We should take a lot of photographs of Tower Bridge.
London / go / study / English / We / to / to / should
Answer
We should go to London to study English.
should / He / white / smart / look / wear / white / a / to
Answer
He should wear a white shirt to look smart.
Should examples - negative
Subject + should + not + present form verb
Subject + shouldn't + present form verb
You shouldn't drink a lot of beer.
You shouldn't go to bed late.
He shouldn't wear that hat.
Should exercises - negative
watch
Answer
You shouldn't watch a lot of TV.
Answer
You shouldn't watch a lot of TV late at night.
+ TIME CHUNK
TV
late at night
Answer
You shouldn't look at your phone.
Answer
You shouldn't look at your phone all the time.
+ FREQUENCY CHUNK
look
your phone
all the time
Answer
You shouldn't drink a lot of coffee.
drink
a lot of coffee
Should - Questions (?) - Open questions
Question word + should + subject + present form verb
​
What should we do tomorrow?
​
Where should we go next week?
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Who should I see?
​
When should she go to bed?
Conversation
Tom and Jane are at their AirBnb, asking their host for advice.
​
Tom: What should we do tomorrow?
Host: The British Museum is open so you should go there. It's really interesting.
Jane: What time should we go?
Host: You should go in the morning because it won't be busy.
Tom: Great, thank you for your advice.
Let's break it down.
What should we do tomorrow?
The 'what' question word means that you are asking for a 'noun' in response.
​
The verb 'do' is used because we are asking about a general activity. If the verb changed to 'see' then only answers using the verb 'see' can be returned. Using 'do' gives the person answering options.
​
Tomorrow is a +TIME CHUNK.
The British Museum is open so you should go there. It's really interesting.
The adjective 'open' is used to describe the British Museum.
​
'The British Museum is open' is a fact. As a result of that fact 'you should go to the British Museum'. We connect the fact and the result of the fact with 'so'.
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'You should go to the British Museum' becomes 'you should go there' because we know that the speaker means the British Museum.
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'It' is the British Museum - it is from context we know that. The adjective 'interesting' is made stronger with the 'really'.
You should go in the morning because it won't be busy.
The question asked for a time and the answer is 'in the morning'. That fact is given 'because' of a reason. The reason is that 'it won't be busy.'
​
'It' is still the British Museum - we know from context. 'Won't' here is a contraction of 'will not' and the adjective 'busy' is attached using the verb 'be'.
Conversation 2
The family come back to their AirBnb and ask their host for advice about dinner.
​
Tom: Where should we eat tonight?
Host: What do you like?
Billy: I love pizza.
Kate: I want to eat traditional food.
Host: You should eat at Borough Market but it's closed now. You should try Cotto's for pizza.
Jane: What pub should we try?
Host: You should definitely try Ye Old Cheshire Cheese. It's my favourite and traditional.
Tom: How should we get there?
Host: You should take the underground to St. Paul's and then walk.
Conversation 3
Before going to bed, Tom and Jane talk about tomorrow.
​
Tom: What time should we get-up in the morning?
Jane: I want to get-up early to have breakfast.
Tom: Where do you want to go?
Jane: Should we go to the cafe near the station?
Tom: Yes, I loved it there yesterday.
Should - Questions (?) - Closed questions
Should + subject + present form verb + noun / noun phrase
Should I...
Should she...
Should he...
Should it...
Should they...
Should you...
​
are all used for 'advice'.
​
Should we...
​
is used to make a suggestion.
​
A: What do you want to do today?
B: Should we go to the cinema?
A: That sounds good.
​
Speaker B is 'suggesting' that A and B go to the cinema together.
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