Modals - Should - expectation, convention, advice

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Should

Expressing Expectation, Convention or Advice

Expectation

SHOULD	WILL
Should is used for a logical assumption or expectation.	Will is also used for an expected, predicted or scheduled event.
The movie should be available next week.	The movie will be available next week. (This is what I expect.)
It's noon. The mailman should be here any minute.	It's noon. The mailman will be here any minute.
Movie fans should be excited to see the James Bond movie.	Movie fans will be excited to see the James Bond movie.

Convention

SHOULD	(BE) SUPPOSED TO
Should is used to indicate a cultural expectation or norm for behavior.	Supposed to is also used to indicate a cultural expectation or norm for behavior.
People should be honest and not steal creative work.(ethical convention)	People are supposed to be honest and not steal creative work.(ethical convention)
People shouldn't talk on cell phones during movies. (convention)	People aren't supposed to talk on cell phones during movies. (convention)
Should we wear black pants to work? (convention)	Are we supposed to wear black pants to work?(convention)

Options or Advice

SHOULD	OUGHT TO
Should is used for giving options or advice.	Ought to is also used for giving options or advice.
You should try ordering your movies online.(option)	You ought to try ordering your movies online.(option)
He should ask one of his professors for a recommendation. (option)	He ought to ask one of his professors for a recommendation. (option)
She shouldn't talk on her cell phone when she's with you. (advice)	She ought not to talk on her cell phone when she's with you. (advice)

Practice 1

Identifying the Meaning of should

What is the speaker expressing with the given modal choice?

Select an option and check your response to the answer in the text box.
* indicates an incorrect answer.

#	MODAL SENTENCE	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK ANSWER
1.	Next year, more and more music titles should be available online.	expectation convention advice	Answer 1
2.	We should use online music stores instead of pirating music. (stealing by copying and sharing)	expectation convention advice	Answer 2
3.	We should see a greater number of video downloads soon.	expectation convention advice	Answer 3
4.	We should respect artists' rights so that they can make a living from their creative work.	expectation convention advice	Answer 4
5.	You should use iTunes, they have a lot of great titles to offer.	expectation convention advice	Answer 5

Past Tense – Should

Expectation Not Met

Failure to Meet Expectation

SHOULD HAVE	WOULD HAVE
Should have is used for an expectation that was not met.	Would have is used for a failed effort followed by an excuse.
The movie should have been available last week. (but it wasn't)	The movie would have been available last week, but the stores ran out of it.
The mailman should have been there an hour earlier. (but he wasn't)	The mailman would have been there an hour earlier, but he stopped for lunch.
Students should have been nervous about taking their exams last week. (but they weren't)	Students would have been nervous about taking their exams, but they were well prepared.

Failure to Follow a Convention

SHOULD HAVE	(WERE / WAS ) SUPPOSED TO
Should have indicates a failure to meet a cultural expectation on a specific occasion.	Was supposed to indicates a failure to meet a cultural expectation on a specific occasion.
People should have been honest.(but they weren't)	People were supposed to be honest.(but they weren't)
People shouldn't have talked on cell phones during meetings. (but they did!)	People weren't supposed to talk on cell phones during meetings. (they did)
We should have worn black pants to work. (but we did.)	Were we supposed to wear black pants to work?(we didn't )

Advice that Comes Too Late

SHOULD HAVE	OUGHT TO HAVE
Should have is for advice given too late – after a specific event has already occurred.	Ought to have is also for advice given too late – after a specific event has already occurred.
You should have tried ordering your movies online. (but you didn't)	You ought to have tried ordering your movies online.(but you didn't)
He should have asked one of his professors for a recommendation.(but he didn't)	He ought to have asked one of his professors for a recommendation.(but he didn't)
She shouldn't have talked on her cell phone when she was with you. (but she did)	She ought not to have talked on her cell phone when she was with you.(but she did)

Practice 2

Means the Same As " Should Have"

Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK ANSWER
6.	We our movie in the mail today, but we didn't because it is a postal holiday.
7.	I a different video service online. Then, I would have gotten what I wanted.
8.	I Netflix, but I didn't feel like logging in and ordering online.
9.	I the password down after they sent it to me, but I didn't.
10.	The movie I rented pretty good, but it was awful.

Practice 3

Present or Past

Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	FEEDBACK
11.	Do you think we this new DVD player back to the store? This one plays with the picture out of sync with the sound.
12.	It fine. I was watching it this morning and it was all right.
13	The salesman us about that problem before we bought it.
14.	The instructions say that we to get rid of the audio-video sync problem.
15.	I probably that, but I didn't want to start the movie over.
16.	That a problem. You just restart it and choose the scene you want from the movie menu.
17.	Let's watch a movie tonight. We figure out what the problem is.

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