33. SHOULD 1 ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

33. SHOULD 1

A	You should do something= it is a good thing to do or the right thing to do. You can use should to give advice or to give an opinion: ·         You look tired. You should go to bed. ·         The government should do more to improve education. ·         'Should we invite Stephanie to the party?' 'Yes, I think we should.' We often use should with I think /I don't think /Do you think ... ?: ·         I think the government should do more to improve education. ·         I don't think you should work so hard. ·         'Do you think I should apply for this job?' 'Yes, I think you should.' You shouldn't do something= it isn't a good thing to do: ·         You shouldn't believe everything you read in the newspapers. Should is not as strong as must or have to: ·         You should apologise. (=it would be a good thing to do) ·         You must apologise. /You have to apologise. (=you have no alternative)
B	You can use should when something is not right or what you expect: ·         Where's Tina? She should be here by now. (=she isn't here yet, and this is not normal) ·         The price on this packet is wrong. It should be £2.50, not £3.50. ·         That man on the motorbike should be wearing a helmet. We also use should to say that we expect something to happen: ·        Helen has been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass. (= I expect her to pass) ·         There are plenty of hotels in the town. It shouldn't be hard to find a place to stay. (= I don't expect it to be hard)
C	You should have done something= you didn't do it, but it would have been the right thing to do: ·         You missed a great party last night. You should have come. Why didn't you? (=you didn't come, but it would have been good to come) ·         I wonder why they're so late. They should have got here long ago. You shouldn't have done something= you did it, but it was the wrong thing to do: ·         I'm feeling sick. I shouldn't have eaten so much. (= I ate too much) ·         She shouldn't have been listening to our conversation. It was private. (= she was listening) Compare should (do) and should have (done): ·         You look tired. You should go to bed now. ·         You went to bed very late last night. You should have gone to bed earlier.
D	Ought to ... You can use ought to instead of should in the sentences on this page. We say 'ought to do' (with to): ·         Do you think I ought to apply for this job? (= Do you think I should apply ... ?) ·         Jack ought not to go to bed so late. (= Jack shouldn't go ...) ·         It was a great party last night. You ought to have come. ·         Helen has been studying hard for the exam, so she ought to pass.

EXERCISES

33.1	For each situation, write a sentence with should or shouldn't+ one of the following: go away for a few days put some pictures on the walls go to bed so late take a photo Look for another job use her car so much 1 Anna needs a change. ____ She should go away for a few days. ______ 2 Your salary is very low. You _________________________ 3 Jack always finds it hard to get up. He _________________________ 4 What a beautiful view! You _________________________ 5 Sue drives everywhere. She never walks. She _________________________ 6 Dan's room isn't very interesting. _________________________
33.2	Read the situations and write sentences with I think / I don't think ... should .... 1 Joe and Catherine are planning to get married. You think it's a bad idea. ________ I don’t think they should get married. ________________ 2 Jane has a bad cold, but plans to go out tonight. You don't think this is a good idea. You say to her: _________________________ 3 Peter needs a job. He's just seen an advert for a job which you think would be ideal for him, but he's not sure whether to apply or not. You say to him ________________________________________________________ 4 The government wants to increase taxes, but you don't think this is a good idea. ________________________________________________________
33.3	Complete the sentences with should (have)+ the verb in brackets. 1 Helen ___ should pass _____the exam. She's been studying very hard. (pass) 2 You missed a great party last night. _____You should have come _____. (come) 3 We don't see you enough. You ____________ and see us more often. (come) 4 I'm in a difficult position. What do you think I __________ now? (do) 5 I'm sorry that I didn't take your advice. I ____________what you said. (do) 6 We lost the game yesterday, but we _________________.We were the better team. (win) 7 Tanya has a tennis match against Jane tomorrow. Jane ______________-she's much better than Tanya. (win) 8 'Is Joe here yet?' 'Not yet, but he __________ here soon.' (be) 9 We went the wrong way and got lost. We ____________ right, not left. (turn)
33.4	Read the situations and write sentences with should/ shouldn’t. Some of the sentences are past and some are present. 1 I'm feeling sick. I ate too much. ______I shouldn’t have eaten so much.______ 2 That man on the motorbike isn't wearing a helmet. That's dangerous. He ______should be wearing a helmet. ______________ 3 When we got to the restaurant, there were no free tables. We hadn't reserved one. We ______________________________________ 4 The notice says that the shop is open every day from 8.30. It is 9 o'clock now, but the shop isn't open yet. ________________________________________ 5 The speed limit is 30 miles an hour, but Kate is doing 50. She ____________________________________________ 6 Laura told me her address, but I didn't write it down. Now I can't remember the house number. I _____________________________________ 7 I was driving behind another car. Suddenly, the driver in front stopped without warning and I drove into the back of his car. It wasn't my fault. The driver in front ____________________________ 8 I walked into a wall. I was looking behind me. I wasn't looking where I was going. ______________________________________________________

ANSWER KEY

33.1 2 You should look for another job. 3 He shouldn't go to bed so late. 4 You should take a photo. 5 She shouldn't use her car so much. 6 He should put some pictures on the walls. 33.2 2 I don't think you should go out . /I think you should stay at home. 3 I think you should apply for it. /_for the j ob. 4 I don't think the government should increase taxes. 33.3 3 should come 4 should do 5 should have done 6 should have won 7 should win 8 should be 9 should have turned 33.4 3 We should have reserved a table. 4 The shop should be open (now). /The shop should have opened by now. Or It should ... 5 She shouldn't be doing SO. /She shouldn't be driving so fast. /She should be driving more slowly. 6 I should have written down her address. /I should have written her address down. Or I should have written it down. 7 The driver in front shouldn't have stopped without warning. /... shouldn't have stopped so suddenly. 8 I should have been looking where 1 was going. /I shouldn't have been looking behind me.