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Tung Quoc Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

should

You should do well on the test.

should here expresses advisability or degree of certainty or both? If not both, how to distinguish advisability or degree of certainty in this case?

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Tung Quoc You should do well on the test. should here expresses advisability or degree of certainty or both? If not both, how to distinguish advisability or degree of certainty in this case?

  • Tung Quoc You should do well on the test.
  • should here expresses advisability or degree of certainty or both?
  • If not both, how to distinguish advisability or degree of certainty in this case?
  • Q Both.
  • You need more context for clear separation.
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6 Answers
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Tung QuocYou should do well on the test.

should here expresses advisability or degree of certainty or both? If not both, how to distinguish advisability or degree of certainty in this case?

Q
Both. You need more context for clear separation.
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Hi Marius

You should do well on the test.

You should do well in the test.

Should the preposition be 'in' instead of 'on? Or are both acceptable?
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I prefer "in".

If someone says to me You should do well in the test, my immediate interpretation is that the speaker considers I have studied well enough. He could say You will do well, but nobody is ever sure.

Also interpretable as advisability, but here I'd be inclined to put it more strongly: You
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Tung QuocYou should do well on the test.

should here expresses advisability or degree of certainty or both? If not both, how to distinguish advisability or degree of certainty in this case?

Q

I'd say certainty. If it were advisability, I'd expect to see/hear "you should try to".
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To be 100% about the intended meaning of should, you often need more context.
However, I agree with Milky in this case: should seems to suggest certainty in the sentence.
If it were advisability, the sentence would normally be worded a little differently.

As regards the prepostition:
I have a sneaking suspicion this may be one of those

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