4. Should 5. Ought to

Should and Ought to are very much alike in meaning and are often interchangeable. They are very common in Spoken English. They have only one form; ought is always followed by the to-infinitive.

Historically should was the past form of shall and both the forms expressed obligation. But in present-day English they have developed different meanings and are treated as two different verbs.

Should and Ought to express:

1. Obligation, moral or mild/weak obligation or duty, responsibility (in this meaning ought to is preferable).

• should and ought to are less emphatic (настойчивый, настоятельный, эмоциональный) than must and have to

• must indicates complete obligation, it is stronger than should

• with should the person has some choice on whether or not to act, but with must he has no choice

• In Russian should and ought to correspond to: (не) следует, (не) следовало (бы), (не) должен, (не) должен (был) (бы), (не) надо (было) (бы), вы бы (не)

• all forms of the Infinitive are used:

Should/Ought to +	Indefinite Infinitive		The action refers to the present or future /present or future reference.
Should/Ought to +	Indefinite or Continuous Infinitive		The action refers to the present/ present reference.
Should/Ought to +	Perfect Infinitive		The action refers to the past/ past reference.
should do/ought to do		shouldn’t do/oughtn’t to do
should be doing/ought to be doing		shouldn’t be doing/oughtn’t to be doing
should have done/ought to have done		shouldn’t have done/oughtn’t to have done

• You should apologise. (= it would be a good thing to do) – Вам следует извиниться.

• Cf. You must apologise. (= you have no alternative)

• People ought to live in peace. (It’s the right thing to do, but people don’t always do it.)

• People should be warned/ought to be warned of the danger of swimming off

this beach.

• She ought to have treated us more fairly. (объективно, справедливо) (It was the right thing to do, but she didn’t do it.)

• I should have given them the money yesterday. (You mean that you had a mild obligation to give them the money yesterday, but you did not give it to him.)

2. Advice, desirability (желательность), recommendation. (in this meaning should is more common) We are talking about what is a good thing to do or the right thing to do.

• In Russian should and ought to correspond to: (не) следует, (не) следовало (бы), (не) должен, (не) должен (был) (бы), (не) надо (было) (бы), вы бы (не)

• should and ought to are used with all forms of the Infinitive in affirmative, negative, interrogative sentences

• Should/Ought to + Perfect Infinitive in an affirmative sentence shows that a desirable action was not carried out or that we expected something to happen but do not know if it happened.

• Should/Ought to + Perfect Infinitive in a negative sentence shows that an undesirable action was carried out.

• You should stop smoking. (general advice; I advise you)

• You should have stopped smoking. (but you didn’t)

• It is late. You should go to bed.

• You shouldn’t miss the opportunity.

• You shouldn’t sit so close to the television! It’s bad for your eyes.

• Should I talk to him about it?

• You shouldn’t be sitting in the sun.

• He should be wearing a helmet.

• Those boys shouldn’t be playing football at this time. They should be at school.

• You should have said it.

• He looks very ill. He should have stayed at home.

• They should have arrived by now. (But I don’t know if they arrived)

• She shouldn’t have been listening to our conversation. It was private.

• You ought to be more careful with your money.

• You oughtn’t to mention it to anyone.

• Ought she to warn you?

• It was a great party last night. You ought to have come. (= you didn’t come but it would have been good to come)

• You ought to have contacted a lawyer earlier. (but you didn’t)

• You can use I should... / I shouldn’t ... to give somebody advice. (When we give

advice with I, we use should (or would), not ought to.

• I should leave early tomorrow if I were you. or I would leave early tomorrow if I were you. or I’d leave early tomorrow if I were you.

• Shall I leave now? – No, I should wait a bit longer. (= I would wait if I were you, I advise you to wait.)

• It’s very cold this morning. I should wear a coat when you go out.

• We use ‘should’, ‘ought to’ to give or ask for an opinion about a situation, often with: I think ...; I don’t think ...; Do you think…

• I think that we should be paid more.

• I don’t think you should work so hard.

• You are always asking me for money. I think you should spend less.

• Do you think I should apply for this job? – Yes, I think you should.

• Do you think he ought not to go?

• What do you think we should do?

• ‘I should’ + ‘think’ makes an opinion less direct

• I should think that model would sell quite well. (present reference)

• I should have thought you knew. (past reference)

• We use ‘should’ as a polite expression of thanks on receiving a gift or a favour

• I’ve done the washing up for you. – Oh, you really shouldn’t have! (The intonation should be friendly, as this is not a criticism.)

3. Criticism; regret (should and ought to are used to criticise someone’s actions or lack of action)

• They should warn us. (present or future reference)

• You ought to be more polite to her. (present or future reference)

• You should have thanked me for everything I’ve done for you. (= It would have been better if you had thanked me. It was the right thing to do, but you didn’t do it.) (past reference)

• He should have asked me before he took my bike. (I’m annoyed)

• You ought to have asked for advice. (past reference) (but you didn’t)

• You oughtn’t to have stopped on the motorway (автострада).

• We should have taken/ought to have taken a taxi when it rained. (I’m sorry we

didn’t)

4. Expectation (= something which can be naturally expected)

• should/ought to = is expected to

• should and ought to are used in affirmative and negative sentences

• the action refers to the present or future

• in Russian should and ought to correspond to: должен, не должен

• The book should be very interesting. (= the book is expected to be interesting) Книга должна быть интересной.

• Apples ought to grow well here. Яблоки должны расти хорошо здесь.

• The new sanatorium ought to be very comfortable.

• She should make a good teacher.

• She’s been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass. (= I expect her to pass)

• There are plenty of hotel in the town. It shouldn’t be difficult to find somewhere to stay. (= I don’t expect that it will be difficult)

• I enjoyed her first novel, so the new one should be/ought to be good.

• The builders should have finished/ought to have finished by the end of the week.

• If the flight was in time, he should have arrived in Jakarta early this morning.

5. Probability (вероятность). (90 % certain) (With probability must is more common).

• the action refers to the present and future

• In Russian should and ought to correspond to: должен, вероятно, по-видимому, вряд ли

• We should see him there. (= We will probably see him there.)

• We needn’t be in a hurry. The guests shouldn’t come for another hour. Гости, вряд ли, придут раньше чем через час.

• I shouldn’t finish work early today. (= I won’t probably finish work early.)

• Sally ought to be in Canada by now. (= She will probably be in Canada.)

• He should be here by nine o’clock. (= He will probably be here by nine o’clock.)

• The sweater should look nice with your tweed jacket.

• They should have started the course by now. (= They have probably started the course by now.)

• He should have received the report by now. (He has probably received the report.)

• She ought to be a clever child. Она, по-видимому, умный ребенок.

6. We use should to make an informal suggestion

• What should we have for dinner?

• What should we do tonight?

• Why shouldn’t we go to the beach?

7. Should is used in set expressions corresponding to the Russian: чего ради …; с какой стати ...; зачем ...

• Why should (not) they do it?

• Why should (not) he have done it?

• How should I know? Почем я знаю?

• Why should she interfere?

• Why should he have said so?

• Why should he think so? Почему он так думает?

• Why should we have argued?

• Why shouldn’t he know?

• Why should I trust you?

• Why should he have bought the book? Зачем ему было покупать эту книгу?

8. Should is used in the if-clause to make it even less likely

• If you should require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

• Should you wish to contact me, I can be reached at the above address. (inversion)

9. There are two set phrases with ‘ought to’ expressing reproach/criticism.

1. You ought to know this. (= you are supposed to know this – вам полагается это знать)

2. You ought to know better. Мог бы понимать такие вещи.

• You ought to know better than to go out without an overcoat on such a cold day.

10. ought to + Infinitive – is used when describing something exciting, funny or beautiful in the meaning of: I wish you would.

• You ought to hear the way he plays the piano! = I wish you would hear the way he plays the piano!

11. We can use ‘be supposed to + infinitive’ instead of ‘should/ought to’ to talk about an obligation to do something. It is commonly used in spoken English to express a less strong obligation which is frequently ignored:

• I’m supposed to be there at 10.00. Я должен быть там в 10 часов.

• We are supposed to leave our textbooks at school, but we often take them home.

• The work was supposed to start last week. (= but it didn’t start)

• ‘You are not supposed to’ expresses prohibition

• You are not supposed to eat in the classroom.

• We use ‘be supposed to’ when we report what many people think is true.

• Eating sweets is supposed to be bad for your teeth. (not:...should be bad for...)

• ‘supposed’ – ‘said to’

• I’d like to read that book. It is supposed to be very good.

• He is supposed to have been married before. (= He is said to have been married before.)

• ‘be supposed to’ expresses the idea that someone else expects something to be done (you are supposed to = you are expected to):

• You are supposed to wear a suit to work. (= Your employer expects you to.)

• Cf.: You should wear a suit to work. (= It is a good idea because it makes a better impression.)

• We are supposed to start work at 8.00 every morning.

12. ‘Should’ is used for emotional coloring (see: Emotional ‘Should’)