should as a past form

Question

0    Hi, I think the modal 'would' can be used as a past form of the modal 'will'. Can we use the modal 'should' as a past form of the modal 'shall'? Would you say the 'should' be used here and not 'shall'???Please correct it too.  He ate the pizza and he should pay for the pizza too. It wasn't fair for him to not pay for pizza (not to pay for pizza??).     0-

Noob_plz_dun_laugh · Accepted Answer

0Hi both forms are grammatically correct, but have different meanings.02br
02br
00"He should pay for the pizza too" - he didn't pay for the pizza that he ate, and paying for it is something he'd ought to do.02br
02br
00"He shall pay for the pizza" - he ate the pizza, but he will pay you back, no worries.02br
02br
00your 2nd questions , same thing, grammatically correct, 2 different meanings.02br
02br
00"It wasn't fair for him not to pay for the pizza" - he should have paid for THAT particular box of pizza02br
02br
00"It wasn't fair for him not to pay for pizza" - this process has been happening for a number of times, ie. When we have the party tonight, I will pay for drinks and he will pay for pizza. The reason why some people may want to use the first sentence is that pizza is usually something specific. But if the sentence was "It wasn't fair for him not to pay for drinks" it may sound better because the term drinks may include soda, wine, beer etc. 02br
02br
00*DISCLAIMER : advice given by non-native English speaker0-

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Anonymous12cite10I think the modal 'would' can be used as a past form of the modal 'will'. Can we use the modal 'should' as a past form of the modal 'shall'?12blockquote

10 Yes, but probably not the way you're thinking of it, to judge by your example.02br
01i00would02i00 is the 'backshift' (past) of 01i00will02i00. Note the following examples of reported speech. 02br
01i00Georgina 01u00says02u00 that she 01u00will02u00 attend the meeting.02i02br
01i00Georgina 01u00said02u00 that she 01u00would02u00 attend the meeting. 02i02br
00The relation between 01i00shall 02i00and01i00 should 02i00is like the relation between01i00 will 02i00and01i00 would02i00 in conditional patterns: 02br
01i00If Bernie 01u00passes02u00 the exam, I 01u00shall02u00 be very surprised.02i00 [very formal substitute for 01i00will02i00 in AmE]02br
02br
01i00If Bernie 02i01u00passed02u00 the exam, I 01i01u00should02u00 be very surprised. 02i00 [very formal substitute for 01i00would02i00 in AmE]02br
01i00______02i02br
02br
00In the case of paying for the pizza, 01i00He 01u00should02u00 pay for the pizza02i00 is present, not past: It 01u00is02u00 expected of him to pay now or soon. I believe it 01u00is02u00 his duty to pay now or soon.02br
02br
00The past is 01i01u00should have02u02i00. 01i00He didn't pay for the pizza, but he 01u00should have02u00 paid for it.02i00 It 01u00was02u00 expected of him to pay then, at that time. I believed it 01u00was02u00 his duty to pay then, on that occasion.02br
01i00______02i01blockquote

01cite10Anonymous12cite10It wasn't fair for him to not pay for pizza (not to pay for pizza??).12blockquote

10 01i00It wasn't fair for him 01font00not to02font00 pay for 01font00the02font00 pizza. He ate the pizza, so he 01u00should have02u00 paid for it too.02i02br
00____02br
00In short, 01i00should02i00 is only rarely used as a past form -- in very formal writing and typically in conditional sentences. In 99.9% of the cases you encounter where you want the past of 01i00should02i00, 01i00should have02i00 is the more likely choice. And 01i00should have02i00 always means 01i00didn't02i00 -- was expected to (do something), but didn't (do it).02br
02br
00CJ 0-

should as a past form

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions