should

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled shoud, shoued, and sh’d

US /ʃəd/ UK /ʃʊd/ See IPA manual

Freq #117

Meanings

1

verb
Used to say what is the right or sensible thing to do.

You should never drink and drive.
2

verb
Used to say that something is expected or likely.

They left an hour ago, so they should be home by now.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

ought

Opposites

shouldn't

Word family

Forms sudn’t

Derived forms should-cost

Related forms should'veshouldashouldst

Etymology

From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

scholde Middle English sċolde Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# should

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ʃəd/
**IPA (UK):** /ʃʊd/
**Frequency rank:** 117

## Meanings
1. Used to say what is the right or sensible thing to do.
2. Used to say that something is expected or likely.

## Examples
- You should never drink and drive.
- They left an hour ago, so they should be home by now.

## Synonyms
- ought

## Antonyms
- shouldn't

## Derived Forms
- should-cost

## Related Forms
- should've
- shoulda
- shouldst

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: scholde
- Root: sċolde

## Etymology
From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

## AI Etymology
Should is from Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English scholde, Old English sċolde. In current use it includes senses such as Used to say what is the right or sensible thing to do and Used to say that something is expected or likely.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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