You can make negative, affirmative, and interrogative sentences with should and this article covers all of these and so much more.
Let’s start by defining the situations in which you have to use the word “should”:
- Used to say or ask what is the correct or best thing to do
- Used to show when something is likely or expected
For example:
- You should apologize (Best thing to do)
- She should be here by 5 ( Something likely or expected)
Let’s check all that you need to make different types of sentences with should correctly
Table of Contents
Sentences and Questions with Should
With the modal should, you can make affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences
| Affirmative | I should spend more time with my friends |
| Negative | I shouldn’t smoke when I am in a public space |
| Interrogative | Should I buy a course to improve my French? |
Now let’s have a look at some examples of the different sentences that you can make with the modal should.
Affirmative Sentences with Should
The structure to make affirmative sentences with should is very simple:
| Subject | Should | Verb | Predicate |
| I | should | work out | every Monday |
These are some affirmative sentences with Should
- I should play soccer
- I should start a new blog
- I should run more often
- She should stay home since she is sick
- She should start a major in Business Administration
- She should save more money
- He should spend more time with his kids
- He should do more exercises
- He should play with us every Tuesday Night
- They should study harder
- They should collect more coins
- They should clean their rooms
These are some sentences with should and traveling etiquette
- You should stick to the rules set by the locals
- You should learn the basic language
- You should mind your manners in restaurants
- You should dress appropriately
- You should keep controversial opinions to yourself
- You should be polite and thankful
- You should try to be punctual
Negative Sentences with Should
The way to make negative sentences is quite easy, follow this structure to do so:
| Subject | Shouldn’t | Verb | Predicate |
| I | shouldn’t | work | long hours |
These are some negative sentences with Should
- I shouldn’t drink too much
- I shouldn’t drive recklessly
- You shouldn’t invest money in that business
- You shouldn’t drink that soda
- He should stop flirting with those girls
- He shouldn’t work those long hours
- They should never do things like that
- They should never play that hard
- We shouldn’t talk to strangers
- We shouldn’t play in this area of the park
Interrogative Sentences with Should
This is the structure that you need to follow to make interrogative sentences with should
| Should | Subject | Verb | Predicate +? |
| Should | I | work | long hours |
These are some interrogative sentences with Should
- Should I play with you?
- Should I go with you?
- Should she get a divorce?
- Should she take a break?
- Should we create a better presentation?
- Should we get a loan to buy another car?
- Should they clean the hall one more time?
- Should we play one more song for the fans?
These are some examples of questions with where, what, and who
- Who should we vote out?
- What car should we rent?
- Where should we stay?
- What beach should we go to first?
- How should we finish this trip?
These are some questions and answers with should
- How should we vote out?
- I think we should vote Ryan out
- What beach should we go to first?
- I think Tamarindo beach is the best beach to have some fun
- Where should we go?
- We should go to the club located in front of the soccer center
- Who should we talk to?
- We should talk to Liza about the problems in the system
Affirmative Sentences with Should Have
These are some Affirmative sentences with Should have
- I should have studied harder
- I should have gone to bed earlier
- He shouldn’t have eaten so many burgers
- He shouldn’t have gone that fast
- We should have spent more time on the beach
- We should have spent more money on the house decoration
- They should have called us when the problem started
- They should have rented a better van
Sentences with Should Have Been
These are some sentences with Should have been.
- The new program should have been introduced at the end of the year
- This should have been settled in court
- She should have been suspended for inappropriate behavior
- We should have been fired before July
- These facts should have been sufficient for the domestic authorities to initiate an investigation.
- Problems like these should have been avoided
- Russell Hantz should have been voted out when we had the chance
Should vs Ought to
Should and ought to have similar meanings and uses. “Ought to” is more formal and less common than should:
- We should talk to the kid
- We ought to talk to the kind
- They should clean their rooms
- They ought to clean their rooms
- You should talk to your son
- You ought to talk to your son
Sentences with Why Should…?
These are some sentences with why should. If we don’t understand (or agree with) something, we may use Why should..?,
- Why should this be a problem?
- Why should hunting be illegal?
- Why should we invest more money in this company?
- Why should we pay for the speed accelerator plugin?
- Why should you pay for something we didn’t break?
Sentences with Should
This is a great video from Woodward English that explains the different types of sentences you can make with should
