‘Should’, ‘would’ and ‘could’ are auxiliary verbs that can sometimes get confusing. They are the past tense of ‘shall’, ‘will’ and ‘can’ but are also used in other situations.
‘Should’ can be used:
- To express something that is probable
Examples:
“John should be here by 2:00 PM.”
“He should be bringing Jennifer with him. - To ask questions
Examples:
“Should we turn left at this street?”
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” - To show obligation, give recommendation or even an opinion
Examples:
“You should stop eating fast food.”
“You should go for walks more often.”
“We should go to the park tomorrow.”
“He should go to the pharmacy first thing in the morning.”
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‘Would’ can be used:
- To ask ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’ or ‘how’ (not always, but often)
Examples:
“How would you do that?”
“What would you do if…”
“When would we have time to do that?”
“Who would want to wait in that line?” - To make a polite request
Examples:
“Would you like any tea?”
“Would you like anything else?” - In hypothetical situations
Examples:
“If I had a lot of money I would like to own a farm one day.”
“I would love to buy a boat one day.” - To ask questions
Examples:
“Would you like fries or salad?”
“Would you like to join us tonight?”
‘Could’ can be used:
- To suggest a possibility
Examples:
“Whose journal is this? It could be Nelly’s journal.”
“Could ‘A’ be the answer? It’s definitely not ‘B’ or ‘D.’” - To make a polite request
Examples:
“Could you please move this box?”
“Could you please pass that paper?”
Using the word ‘could’ to respond to the requests we made in the last example would suggest that you could do it, but you might not really want to. If you agree to the request, then you use the word ‘can’.
Examples:
“Could you please move this box?” “I could, but I am really busy right now.”
“Could you please pass that paper.” “Sure, I can.”
There you go, a few ways to use ‘should’, ‘would’ and ‘could’. Yes, that’s right, just a few ways! There are more, but we can discuss those another time, or you could try to look up the other uses and try them out yourself or with the support of the online English course EF English Live. Join us for free!
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11 comments
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VERY HELPFUL
thanks a lot very useful
very helpful
thank you so much
thank u
good job
To show obligation is a brilliant expression, but should we can use for advice is more appropriate way to say someone: You should go the doctor.
The form is Model auxiliary verb wit escapable obligation
moreover, Should being a model auxiliary verb maybe create a problem for the English learner, as they maybe tempted to add an -s to it in the third person singular, also they can think that should is the past form of SHALL.
The context is very important for the use of advice because in the context of advice the should is NOT the past form of the shell.
if i had a lot of money i would like to have a farm
is this sentence not a continuous tens why the word had
thank you teacher usam
Thank you Wil!
its really helpful.
help full