4. SHALL and SHOULD

Shall

Shall  is used with the first person pronouns I  and we  to show future action.

Examples:

  • We  shall  be there by this time tomorrow.
  • We  shall  all gather on the beach this weekend.
  • We shall  be having a vegetarian meal with the uncle who has become a vegetarian.

Shall  is used for the following expressions.

Examples:

  • Shall  we dine here? Let’s dine here, shall  we? (Suggestion/Question)
  • We  shall  get this jigsaw puzzle done completely by tonight. (Determination)
  • We  shall  walk all the way there together. (Intention)
  • He said he would be a famous magician when he grew up. We  shall  see. (Expectation)
  • Shall  we get a bigger one? (Opinion)

Shall  is used for questions.

Examples:

  • Shall get up for them to sit?
  • Shall  we dine outside or inside? Â
  • When  shall  we visit grandma again?

Shall  is used for all persons for emphasis.

Examples:

  • I  shall  say again that you are talking rubbish.
  • Never  shall  we forget his dying words about nobody are going to look after his pets.
  • You  shall  be made to pay dearly for your negligence.  Â

Examples:

Shall is usually contracted to ‘ll which typically is added to a subject pronoun (I, we, you, they, he, she, it).

  • I’ll  phone you this evening.

The negative form  shall not  is contracted to  shan’t .

  • I’m afraid I  shall not  ( shan’t ) be able to attend the meeting. 

Shall  can be used with second-person and third-person pronouns to give a command or impose a prohibition.

Examples:

  • He  shall  write a letter of apology to the club members.
  • You  shall  leave now as he’s waiting for you.
  • None of you  shall  be permitted to use my nickname again.

Shall  can be used with second-person and third-person pronouns to talk about rules and laws.

Examples:

  • It  shall  be a breach of club rules to drink alcohol in the clubhouse.
  • Candidates  shall  comply strictly with the instructions.
  • There  shall  be total silence during recording. .

Should

Should  is the past form of shall , and like all the other modal verbs does not conjugate. Should  functions as an auxiliary verb to express the following ideas.

Examples:

  • At the rate he’s drinking, he  should  get drunk before long. (Probability/possibility)
  • He knows he  should  remain faithful if he wants his marriage to last. (Obligation/duty)
  • If he  should  die now, what would become of his fleet of luxurious cars? (Condition)
  • At the marketplace whom  should  I meet but my former sweetheart. (Surprise)
  • You  should  go back to your husband. (Suggestion)
  • What color  should  we use for the kitchen walls? (Opinion)
  • There  should  be a large crowd at the festival. (Expectation)
  • You  should  have been there to see what really happened. (Wish)
  • I  should  think it will take us more than two hours to complete it. (Emphasis)

Should  is used in negative statements with the negative word not , which can be contracted.

Examples:

  • You  should not  ( shouldn’t ) have lied to her.
  • You  should not  ( shouldn’t ) worry about the weather each time you go out.Â