Should and tenses

What is the tense of the sentence "You should go..."?

What tense is the verb in your sentence?

Strictly speaking, "should" is past tense.

"go" is a bare infinitive and as such is tenseless.

The two words together indicate obligation for the future (this combination cannot logically refer to the past or even to the present).

I think it can refer to the present when you mean "go" to mean "leave."

You should go now. = You should leave now.
I think we should go now. = Let's depart immediately.

(Though of course it can also refer to the future: You've never been to Paris? Oh, you should go some day. It's wonderful.)

Yes, BarbaraPA, it's present reference there.

ozzourtiStrictly speaking, "should" is past tense.

Originally, yes.

However, in modern English, it seems to me to be better to regard it as an inherently tense-less modal. In certain situations, it can function as a past-tense form of 'shall', but it is most commonly used as an indicator of some degree of obligation:


I though he he sh

AnonymousYes, BarbaraPA, it's present reference there.

I don't think "you should go" is used with present reference. To me, it all depends on the type of verb that follows "should". If the verb is stative, then it likely refers to the present. If it's dynamic, then it seems to refer to the future.

I should go. (future)
I should leave.

ozzourtiI don't think "you should go" is used with present reference.

I agree, as I agree with most of the rest of what you wrote in that post.

My point was that "Strictly speaking, "should" is past tense." was not particularly relevant to modern English.

I don't know why so much attention was paid to "should" and none to "go".

'You (should)(shouldn't)(can)(can't)(might)(must)(etc) go.'

AnonymousWhat is the tense for the sentence "you should go..."

Strictly speaking, You should go has no tense. should is a modal verb. Modal constructions have no tense. This sentence can be paraphrased in various ways (It is a good idea for you to go. It is your duty to go. You have an obligation to go.), all of which place an obligatio

To me, the sentence is clearly present tense. There is just no other choice. (I don't mean that it's that only by default.)