Should – English Modal Verb

With modals verbs, there is only one form of it for every subject pronoun:
 I should  It should
 You should  We should
 He should  They should
 She should

There is never an S at the end of should:

 He shoulds study. (NOT CORRECT)
 He should study. (CORRECT)

After Should we have the base form of the infinitive

(= verb without ‘To’ e.g. Go instead of To Go)

Should + Verb (base form of infinitive)

 You should go now. (Correct)

 You should to go now. (NOT correct)
 He should wait. (Correct)
 He should waits. (NOT correct)

Example sentences with Should:

 I should eat more vegetables.  It should be fine.
 You should take an umbrella.  We should study more.
 He should go to the doctor.  They should wait until tomorrow.
 She should apply for the job.

When do we use SHOULD in English?

1. To give advice, a recommendation or a suggestion
This is to say that it is the right thing to do or the correct thing.

 You should see the new Star Wars movie. It’s great!
 He should go to the dentist if his tooth still hurts.
 The test is next week. We should study for it now.
 You should try that new restaurant on Main Street.

2. To express that a situation is likely in the present or in the future.

This is a type of expectation or prediction.

 Mary should be at home now. Give her a call.

 He should have the letter now. I sent it last week.
 Our team should win the game on Saturday. (Because we have been training all
month so it is our expectation, or prediction that we will win.)
 It should be sunny tomorrow.
3. Expresses an obligation that is not as strong as Must.
Sometimes Should is used instead of Must to make rules, orders or instructions
sound more polite.

This may appear more frequently on formal notices or on information sheets.

 Applications should be sent before the 30th.
 He should drive more carefully.
 Everyone should wear a seatbelt in a car.
 You should pay more attention in class.

All of the above example sentences can have must instead of should making the
obligation stronger and less polite.
For example: Applications must be sent before the 30th.

4. Something was expected in the past but it didn’t happen (should + have + past
participle)
This expresses the idea that the subject did not fulfill their obligation in the past or
did not act responsibly.

 Anna is late. She should have arrived by now.

 I should have called Fred this morning but I forgot.
 You should have given your boss the report yesterday when he asked for it.

5. Not fulfilling an obligation (should + be + verb-ing)

This expresses the idea that someone is not fulfilling their obligation or is not
acting sensibly right now.

 You should be wearing your seatbelt. (The person isn’t wearing one right now)
 We should be studying for the exam. (We are not studying right now and we
should be studying)

6. Sometimes should is replaced by ought to without a change in meaning. Note

that ought to sounds more formal and is used less frequently.

 You ought to go home now. (= You should go home now)

 She ought to take her dog for more walks. (= She should take her dog…)
 They ought to stop doing that. (= They should stop doing that)

Shouldn’t

The negative of should is shouldn’t or should not.

We almost always use the contraction shouldn’t in spoken English.
We use shouldn’t to advise not to do something, usually because it is bad or the wrong
thing to do.
 You shouldn’t eat that dessert if you are sick.

This is my recommendation not to do something, not to eat that dessert.

  She shouldn’t buy that dress, it’s too big for her.
 You look tired. You shouldn’t work so much.
 He shouldn’t talk to his boss like that.
Notice how all of these sentences are about a recommendation or advice NOT to do
something.

Think + should
We do not use: I think + shouldn’t.
We use: I DON’T think + should.
 I think you shouldn’t go there. (NOT correct)

This is NOT correct because we don’t have the negative shouldn’t after I think.
Instead we make the verb THINK negative and say:

 I don’t think you should go there. (Correct)

A couple more examples:
 I don’t think he should eat that.
 I don’t think we should start yet.

Should in Questions

We use should in questions when we want advice, a recommendation, or a

suggestion.

Let’s look at this affirmative sentence:

 I should go now.

How can we change this to a question?

We change the order of the modal verb should with the subject.

So the question becomes:

 Should I go now?

A couple more examples…

 Should I wear the green shirt? (I am asking for your advice or recommendation)

We can also have the W words like What, When, Why, etc. before the modal verb.
 What should we do now? (What do you suggest?)
Must – English Modal Verb

With modals verbs, there is only one form of it for every subject pronoun:
 I must  It must
 You must  We must
 He must  They must
 She must

Just like the other modal verbs, there is never an S at the end of must:
 He musts stop. (This is NOT CORRECT)
 He must stop. (This is CORRECT)
After Must we have the verb, or more specifically, the base form of the infinitive.
This means the infinitive without To.
For example the infinitive is To Go so the base form is just the Go part.
Instead of To study, only study.
Instead of To speak, we only put speak after the modal verb Must.

For example:
 You must to go.(This is NOT correct – we don’t use all of the infinitive – we
need to remove the TO part)
 You must go. (Correct)
 He must waits.(This IS NOT correct – we don’t conjugate the verb so no S is
necessary at the end – we need the base form of the infinitive)
 He must wait. (This is correct)

Some example sentences with Must are…

 I must study.  It must be ready by tomorrow.
 You must respect your parents.  We must listen to all of the
 He must wear a helmet when he instructions.
rides his bike.  They must follow the rules.
 She must see a doctor before it
becomes worse.

In what situations do we use MUST?

1. To express obligation or duty

MUST is used to express obligation or duty.
This also refers to complying with rules, laws and regulations.

If this obligation isn’t completed, then there will be problems or serious consequences.
 She must pass the English exam. She cannot graduate without it.

As a part of the regulations, she needs to pass the English exam before she can
graduate. There is an obligation to pass.
 You must wear a seatbelt at all times.

This is the law so it is your obligation to wear one.

 You must eat all of your vegetables or you won’t get any dessert.

2. To emphasize the necessity of something

MUST is used to emphasize the necessity of something, that something is needed or

necessary.
 Plants must have light and water to grow.

Light and water are needed or are necessary for the plant to grow.
 The road is very busy. You must look both ways before crossing it.

You need to do this, unless you want to get run over.

  You must study before the exam if you want to get a good grade.
Yes, study is always needed.

3. Deduction – Sure that something is true (Certainty)

Must is used when you are sure or certain that something is true based on evidence.
It can be used when we don’t know something exactly but we are very certain that it is
true.
 Look at all of that snow. It must be really cold outside.
I’m sure or certain that it is cold outside (based on the evidence of all the snow out
there… and snow is cold)

 Mary must be home. I heard a noise coming from her room.

I’m sure it is Mary because she is usually home from school at this time of day.

 It’s five in the morning and you still haven’t gone to bed? You must be tired!
I’m certain you are tired because I would be tired too if I hadn’t slept all night.

4. Expresses positive logical assumptions about the past (Must + have + past
participle)
Must can also be used when making positive assumptions, using logic, about things
that happened in the past. For this we use Must + have + the past participle
 That must have been my mother calling me while I was in the meeting. Nobody
else has my private number.

That is my logical assumption about what happened in the past, someone calling me.
 He must have won the lottery with the new house and car he has just bought.
I can’t think of any other way he would suddenly have so much money so my logical
assumption is that he must have won the lottery.

5. A strong recommendation (or strong advice)

Must can also used as a strong recommendation or as strong advice.

It means that something is highly recommended (stronger than using should)

 The cupcakes here are delicious. You must try one.

Yes, I highly recommend it.

 You must see the new Joe Jackson movie, it’s fantastic.

It is my advice … my strong recommendation.

 You must get that strange mole checked out by a dermatologist.
As you can see, all of these examples are strong recommendations and are highly
recommended by you.
MUST NOT – MUSTN’T
The negative of Must is Mustn’t
Mustn’t is a contraction, or short way of saying Must not.

Mustn’t is a negative obligation. It is important that you do NOT do something.

In a way, mustn’t is the same as saying it is prohibited or it is not allowed.

Mustn’t = Do not do this! You don’t have a choice.

Let’s look at some examples sentences with mustn’t.

 You mustn’t use your phone while you are driving.
Yes, it is prohibited to use your phone while driving as you will be distracted and may
cause an accident.
 Students mustn’t talk during the exam.
Talking is not allowed during the exam.
 You must not open the gift until your birthday.
This means you must wait. You are not allowed to open the gift before then.
 You mustn’t tell Susan. It’s a surprise for her.
Yes, it is important that you do NOT tell Susan or it will ruin the surprise.

Must vs. Have To

In our last lesson, we saw how to use the modal verb MUST in English.
Sometimes HAVE TO is used instead of MUST.
For example you may hear:
 I must write a letter to John. OR
 I have to write a letter to John.
What is the difference between MUST and HAVE TO?
MUST and HAVE TO are both used to express an obligation, responsibility or necessity.
While Must can generally be replaced by Have to in the present tense, there is
sometimes a slight difference in meaning or use.
Let’s look at our previous example using MUST:
 I must write a letter to John.
We generally use must when the speaker decides that something is necessary, or
needs to be done.
In this case I have decided that I need to write a letter to John. Nobody else has told me
to write it. I think it is necessary.
The other example with HAVE TO.
 I have to write a letter to John.
We use have to when somebody else other than the speaker has made the decision.
So here, I didn’t decide to write a letter. Somebody else has told me to write it,
somebody else told me it was necessary to do.
Let’s look at some more examples:
 I must book a hotel for my trip next week.
Here I am reminding myself that it is necessary to do. I have decided that it is
necessary.
 We have to wear a uniform at work.
Our boss makes us wear a uniform. It is an obligation that our boss has decided that is
necessary. I, the speaker, am not making this obligation, someone else is.
Compare the following sentences:
 The Teacher says: You must complete the essay by Friday
 The Student says: We have to complete the essay by Friday.
The teacher has used MUST because he or has is giving the students an obligation.
Since the teacher has given us the obligation, we use have to. This is because
somebody else, in this case the teacher, has told us what needs to be done.
When we mention someone else’s obligation, then we use the correct conjugation
of Have to.
For example:
 Mike can’t come because he has to work tomorrow.
It is Mike’s obligation to fulfill his work commitments.
 Susan and Steve have to pay their rent every Friday.
They both have the obligation to pay their rent on that day.
In both examples you would not use MUST because we are talking about someone
else’s obligations.
Questions – Must or Have to?
For questions it is much more common to use Have to instead of Must (Must sounds
very formal):
 When do you have to finish the report?
Normally, you will not hear someone say “When must you finish the report?” as it
doesn’t sound natural.
Note however that you may still hear MUST used in questions, though mainly in British
English.
 Must you leave right now? (Possible, though rare. More likely in British English)
 Do you have to leave right now? (Much more common in general spoken
English)
MUST in different tenses
Must is only used in the present tense and sometimes to express the future. We use a
form of have to for the other tenses.
The past tense of Must is Had to:
 I had to pay my speeding ticket yesterday.
 She had to give a presentation to her boss.
The future tense of Must is Will have to:
 I will have to leave work early tomorrow.
In spoken English we would use the contraction I’ll instead of I will. I’ll have to leave…
However, sometimes Must is also used to express future obligation.
 I must leave work early tomorrow
Though the version with will have to is much more common.
Have to vs. Have got to
In informal English, have got to is sometimes used instead of have to.
Note that the subject and have/has are almost always contracted before got to in
spoken English.
I’ve got to … is a contraction of… I have got to … which is the same as … I have to.
He’s got to … is a contraction of… He has got to … which is the same as … He has
to.
Let’s look at the three ways of saying the same thing:
 I’ve got to tidy my room before I can go out.
 I have got to tidy my room before I can go out.
 I have to tidy my room before I can go out.
Some more examples:
 We’ve got to study for the exam. (We must study for the exam)
 She’s got to bring her ticket or she won’t get in. (She must bring her ticket, or
she has to bring her ticket)
  He’s got to be more patient. (He must be more patient)
Here are two sentences:
 I have to wash the dishes.
 I’ve got to wash the dishes.
They both mean the same thing.
However, when an adverb of frequency is used, have to used instead of have got to.
 I normally have to wash the dishes. (this is correct)
 I’ve normally got to wash the dishes. (this is NOT used)
MUST vs. HAVE TO Summary Chart
In general, Have to is more frequent in conversation (or spoken English) than Must.
Must is used more in formal writing, especially in written notices, rules or instructions.