should and would

should and would

1. As with shall and will, should has been largely driven out by would as an auxiliary verb, but there is the added consideration that should also (in fact more often than not) denotes obligation or likelihood

• (Now I think we should bring down the curtain on this little episode, and go to bed —A. Browning, 1992

• The letters, which should have arrived at patients' homes today, ask them to seek advice and counselling —York Press, 2002

• Patients with diabetes should have tighter limits placed on blood pressure —British Medical Journal, 2003).

2. As an auxiliary verb, would is more usual than should when stating a condition or proposition and is the only choice when asking a question (They would like to stay / I would think so / Would you bring the children?). Should is sometimes used in the first person (singular and plural) for statements and propositions, especially in the English of England

• (‘I should like one of these,’ says Claudia —Penelope Lively, 1987)

and in tentative statements of opinion

• (I should say that there is not only increasing public awareness of the problems of smoking and its long-term consequences to the health of smokers, but [etc.] —Hansard, 1992)

and is always used in inverted constructions expressing a condition:

• You will find plenty of wood for a fire should you need one —fishing website, BrE 2002 [OEC].

3. Would has to be used when referring to unfulfilled conditions and hypotheses

• (Ordinarily, I would have chosen an empty table —Brian Aldiss, 1991)

and to habitual action in the past

• (These he would produce with a flourish during our Wednesday- and Sunday-evening sessions —Will Self, 1993)

and to express the future in the past

• (She realised they would have to come back at some point and face the music —Yorkshire Post Today, 2001 [OEC]).

4. In conversational English, the contracted forms I'd, you'd, etc., are often used in simple statements instead of the full forms, so that the should/would distinction is not an issue

• (I'd be delighted to join you —Kingsley Amis, 1988

• This particular one is limited to 400 so you'd better hurry if you want one —BBC Popular Music Reviews, 2004 [OEC])

but in meanings to do with obligation or likelihood (see paragraph 1) the full form should has to be used.