Polyglot Dictionary

should

/ʃʊd/

modal verb A2
V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Core Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

negative
should not / shouldn't

Meaning

  1. deber (consejo)

    Gives advice or a recommendation — weaker and friendlier than "must".

    • You should see a doctor.

      Deberías ver a un médico.

  2. debería (expectativa)

    Expresses what is expected to happen, based on what the speaker knows.

Práctica

1 ¿Qué significa should?

2 Completa el espacio en blanco: You ___ see a doctor.

3 ¿Qué gráfico de características corresponde a should?

Usage notes

"Should" is historically the past tense of "shall", but in modern English it functions as its own modal verb for advice and expectation, not as a past tense.

verbmodal-verbirregularcore-vocabularygrammar

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