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    Learn English > English lessons and exercises > English test #106729: Should ( Ought to)
    > Other English exercises on the same topics: Speaking | Idioms | Modals [Change theme]
    > Similar tests: - Vocabulary: greeting people - Vocabulary: on the phone - On the phone - Interacting with someone - Dialogue : What time...? - Conditional clauses - Differences between Like and As - Eating out-Vocabulary
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    Should ( Ought to)


     

    SHOULD  is a modal auxiliary, ( the preterite of shall). It means 'what is correct, proper, what is a good action, or a duty' and is used to express:

    r

                                                                            

     

    1) - moral or friendly  ADVICE in the present and the future : for moral advice, it's quite frequent to use ought to + verb. In the United States, 'ought to ' is more often used than in the United Kingdom, whatever nuance you want to express.

    With should (or ought to), the subject is submitted to an outside pressure, he's not making his own decisions freely (= constraint ); on the contrary, 'would' often has a tinge of 'will power'.

    ex : You should stop smoking as soon as possible !(= You ought to stop smoking! = it would be moral, you'd live longer, in order to take care of your family ...)

     

    2) - Regrets, or reproaches concerning the present ( here too, 'ought to' insists on a moral constraint ). The negative form shouldn't is much more frequent to express reproaches.

    ex : He shouldn't drive so fast, especially after being so sick. Let's hope he won't be arrested for DUI. (Driving Under Influence -of drugs, alcohol etc.)

     

    3) - A possibility, a prevision or prediction: = something is likely or expected ...

    ex : Federer is the best player of the tournament : he should win quite easily.

     

    4) - In the past :  should + have + past participle  = expresses opinions about past actions which were unpredictable, desirable, unnecessary. In that case, 'have' is unstressed.

    ex : You should have helped him when he needed you.

    ex : He shouldn't have lied if he wanted me to trust him ...

     

    5) - In an 'if' clause, 'should' expresses a coincidence, an unlikely hypothesis:

    ex : If there should be a delay, I'd want to be warned ! = If there happens to be a delay ...

    In very formal conversations or in formal written language, we may use the subject-verb inversion :  ex : Should there be a delay, I would like to be warned ...

                                                                         

     





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    1) 'Kevin ! You know that so much chocolate ! You'll make yourself sick !'
    2) The tennis match tomorrow will be wonderful, but Roger ! He's really the best player at present !
    3) Mary ! more at Maths ! You'd get better marks and slowly, you'd like it better !
    4) Tom was quite rude ! the door without knocking first !
    5) in, or do you want me to go ? You have to decide right now...
    6)Yesterday I heard a student say: 'The teacher the whole class. It's not fair...'' 'Do you think and see him' ?
    7) more vegetables, especially green ones... They're very good for you !
    8) Yes ! You're right ! you... I'm sorry and I won't do it again... I promise !
    9) Come on ! As an adult, better performances than a Junior !
    10) mistakes in my text, please, do not hesitate and correct them...or point them out to me !









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