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Tenacious Learner Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
I'd like to be confirmem about both ones, present and past
Hi teachers,
Is sentence 'a' in present and sentence 'b' in past?
a) According to the doctor, what shall the postman do to help him?
b) According to the doctor, what should the postman do to help him?
Thanks in advance.
Is sentence 'a' in present and sentence 'b' in past?
a) According to the doctor, what shall the postman do to help him?
b) According to the doctor, what should the postman do to help him?
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
I realize the dictionary says that the past tense of "shall" is "should," but I should (obligation ) tell you that "shall" is not used in everyday American English. Your sentence B has a present tense meaning. The past tense of "should" is "should have" as in: According to the doctor, what should the postman have done to help him?
- I realize the dictionary says that the past tense of "shall" is "should," but I should (obligation ) tell you that "shall" is not used in everyday American English.
- Your sentence B has a present tense meaning.
- The past tense of "should" is "should have" as in: According to the doctor, what should the postman have done to help him?
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5 Answers
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I realize the dictionary says that the past tense of "shall" is "should," but I should (obligation 
) tell you that "shall" is not us
) tell you that "shall" is not us
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Shawn79I realize the dictionary says that the past tense of "shall" is "should,"Hi Shawn79,
Thank you for you reply. Exactly, you guess it! I had my doubts when I read that.
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Hi Shawn79,
This is the context:
The postman smiled. ‘Is the gentleman ill?’ he asked. I thought quickly. ‘Yes. But this is a lady, not a gentleman. I’m a doctor, and she’s ill. Take her hand, so I can help her better.’
One more question please: this is the one you've told me.
According to the doctor, what should the postman have done to help him?
Knowing that the pos
This is the context:
The postman smiled. ‘Is the gentleman ill?’ he asked. I thought quickly. ‘Yes. But this is a lady, not a gentleman. I’m a doctor, and she’s ill. Take her hand, so I can help her better.’
One more question please: this is the one you've told me.
According to the doctor, what should the postman have done to help him?
Knowing that the pos
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Yes, assuming the postman did as he was asked, that question is possible too.
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