Would – various usages: ‘Would’ has various expressions of which a few are discussed here.

(1) It is often meaningless to give students exercises requiring them to put ‘WILL’  into past tense unless ‘Past Reported Speech’ is intended.

• I said to her, “He will come for the party” (direct speech where ‘Will’ is used.
• I told her that he would come for the party. (indirect speech where ‘Will’ is converted into ‘would’.
• He said to us, “We will find a cure the deadly disease.” (direct speech)
• He told us that we would find a cure for the deadly disease. (indirect speech)

(2) ‘Will’ and ‘Would’ have more or less the same meaning. But, when ‘Would’ is used it shows more hesitancy and greater deference on the part of the speaker to the audience.

• Will you have some tea? (a simple offer/invitation for a cup of tea)
• Would you have some tea? (here more deference or respect is shown by using ‘Would’.)

(3)  If you say that someone or something would do something, you mean that they often used to do that thing.

• Sometimes they would wave at us.(i.e., sometimes they used to wave at us)
• I would often hear him grumbling to himself.
• My father would give us minor punishments when we made the same mistake.
• The old man would sit there for hours together after his wife’s death. (he used to sit…)

(4)  If you say that a particular person or thing WOULD NOT do something, you mean that they refused to do it.

• Despite of our repeated requests, she wouldn’t go. (i.e., she refused to go)
• He thought I was a poor man because I wouldn’t purchase costly things from his exhibition shop.
• However hard I tried, it just wouldn’t open. (i.e., I tried hard but it just didn’t open)

(1)  Be supposed to: it is believed/ said.

• It’s supposed to be the best restaurant available in the town.
• He is supposed to be a modern writer.
• He is supposed to be the richest person in the locality.

(2)  Something is supposed to happen = It is planned, arranged or expected.

• I am supposed to meet him at 10.00 am at the Hotel Casino.
• The attendant was supposed to keep the Board Room clean and tidy before the meeting.
• The train is supposed to arrive within 10 minutes.
• Monsoon is supposed to reach within a couple of days.
• You were supposed to come before 10 o’ clock .  Why did you fail to come?

(3) You ‘re not supposed  to do something = It’s not allowed or advisable for you to do it.

• You are not supposed to smoke here.  This is a smoke-free area.
• You are not supposed to park your car here.  This area is meant for doctors.
• You are too weak to do any heavy work.  You’re not supposed to do any heavy work.(i.e doctors have advised him against doing any heavy work)
• We were supposed to speak in English only within the campus of Federal College.

‘ENOUGH’ goes before Nouns, but after Adjectives and Adverbs.

(1) Before Nouns

• I haven’t enough money for a holiday.
• He has enough savings to purchase a flat.
• There are enough chairs for everyone to sit down.
• Please cooperate, we don’t have enough seats to accommodate all.
• You should have enough experience if you want to apply for the job.
• I get enough support from my parents in my studies.

(2) After Adjectives and Adverbs.

• She is not old enough to apply for the job.
• He is strong enough to lift the table.
• The student is intelligent enough to answer this question.
• The bag is not big enough for all the provisions we have bought.
• He is not qualified enough to fill the post of the accountant.
• They are rich enough to send their son to the USA for higher studies.
• The boy is not tall enough to touch the calendar hung on the wall.

Either :

• You can’t  have either of these two books. (neither this, nor that one)
• Either of these two roads will take you to Nedumbassery Airport.

Any :

• You can’t  have any of these three( four, five…)books.
• Any of these three(etc..) roads will take you there.

Neither :

• Neither of the two men was (or were) present.
• Neither of them is (or are) fit for the job.

None :

• None of the three was ( or were) present.
• There were ten candidates for the post.  None of them had the necessary qualifications specified in the application. ( i.e any of them didn’t have the necessary qualifications.

Should have – various usages.

1.  To denote something that was more desirable than what was available .  Or a situation where one was doing something which was not the proper/appropriate thing compared to what they should have been doing.

• That is not the kind of job you should have been doing.(i.e the speaker thinks more appropriate kind of job was something else instead of what he was doing)
• He was sitting idle while he should have been studying his lessons.  (i.e the speaker thinks that the examination was very close and normally a student should have been busy studying instead of sitting idle)
• I wonder where Jithu was.  He should have been there by then for his tabala performance.(i.e Jithu was not there as planned/expected)

2.  Should have -ed ( refers to past obligation or duty left undone)

• You should have helped him. (i.e He was a deserving person but you didn’t help him)
• Your application will not be considered.  You should have submitted it by December 31st.

3.  ‘ You should’ and ‘ You should have’ are used when you are telling someone that something is or was very surprising, unusual, amusing etc and that is a pity  they didn’t witness it.

• You should hear the way she talks to me.
• You should have seen it!

4.  To make a present supposition about the past.

• We took the wrong road an hour ago.  According to the map, the road going to east should have been our way.
• What he said should have been correct. ( Now I presume it was correct from the circumstances that warrant my supposition)

5.  The suggestive use of ‘ Should have (done) ‘

• I am surprised that you should have felt upset. ( suggests that I am surprised at the fact that you were upset)
• I can’t understand why you should have said that .( i.e You said something which one cannot normally or reasonably agree with)

TO and TO THE :  When we go to a building (eg .hospital, school, church, prison etc)for the purpose for which it is constructed , we use ‘To’ (without ‘the’).  Otherwise ‘To the’ is usually used.

• He went to school at 8.30 a.m .(  he went to school for studying – See ‘to school’
• The mother went to the school to see her son.( not for studying)- ‘ to the school’
• He had an accident yesterday.  He was taken to hospital immediately.( i.e for treatment) -‘to hospital’
• All his friends went to the hospital to visit him.( i.e not for treatment )- ‘ to the hospital’
• They went to church to take part in the Holy Service. (i.e for worshipping)- ‘to church’
• The mason went to the church for doing some repair works.(i.e not for working)-‘ to the church’
• He went to post office to post a letter.- ‘to post office’
• I went to the post office to meet a friend of mine.- ‘ to the post office ‘
• After conviction, the culprit was taken to prison. – ‘ to prison ‘(i.e a prison is meant for culprits)
• The magistrate went to the prison as a part of his official duties. – ‘ to the prison ‘( not for undergoing imprisonment)

Should – various usages :

1.  To give advice, opinion etc

• You look tired.  You should go to bed.
• You should seek the advice of the Principal before taking an action.
• Should we hire a taxi or go by bus?

2 .We use ‘should’ with”  I think/I don’t think/Do you think? “etc

• I think you should consult a doctor.
• I don’t think you should submit the resignation now.
• A:  Do you think I should apply for this job?
• B:  Yes, I think you should.

3.  Should/should be doing :  This is to express a wish about what you would like to be doing rather than what you are actually doing.

• That is not the kind of job he should be doing.( actually he is doing some job which the speaker thinks not fit for him, the speaker thinks some different type of job would be apt for him.)
• He is sitting idle while he should be studying his lessons.( i.e For a student, this is not the time to sit idle, but study hard because the exam is close)
• I wonder where Jithu is.  He should be here by now for his tabala performance.( i.e he isn’t here yet and his absence is viewed with disapproval)

4.  I should like = I want ( formal or polite way)

• I should like to ask you a question.
• I should like to know when I can meet the principal.
• I should like to get your valuable advice.

5.  We use ‘SHOULD’ to say that we expect something to happen.

• She has been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass.(i.e I expect her to pass)
• It shouldn’t be difficult for you find somewhere to stay tonight.(i.e I don’t expect that it will be difficult……….)

6.’ SHOULD’ is not as strong as ‘MUST’ when it refers to duty or obligation.

• You should apologise .(i.e it would be a good thing to do)
• You must apologise.( you have no alternative but to apologise)

7.  If………Should

• I have left the washing outside.  If it should rain , can you bring it in?(i.e here the chance of rain is very remote, but to be on the safer side the speaker requests for help.)
• If he should phone while I am out, tell him I will phone him back later.( i.e the chances of his phone call is remote/unlikely)

The ‘suggestive’ use of ‘SHOULD’.

• I am surprised that you should feel upset. ( suggests that I am surprised by the idea of your being upset now)
• I can’t understand why she should say that.( i.e I can’t understand what makes her say it now.)

In case of = in the event of

• In case of fire, ring the alarm bell.
• In case of any difficulty, please contact me over the phone.
• In case of any complications we sought the opinion of senior doctors ( past)

In any case = whatever happens or may have happened.

• He will not help me in any case.
• In any case we are not going to give in to his pressure tactics.
• In any case the project should be completed within the stipulated time.

In no case = under no circumstances.

• In no case I will accept his proposal.
• In no case the proposal is going to be viable without the support and cooperation of the local residents.

In this case / in that case = if this /that happens, has happened, should happen.

• In that case , you may phone the police.
• In this case, it is advisable to utilise our own funds for investments ; because financial institutions are charging exorbitant rate of interest.

There is a clear-cut difference in the usage of  IN CASE and IF. In the case of ‘In case”, something is being done in anticipation of something else. Similarly we did ( or not) something  anticipating something else.  But in the case of ‘IF’ , nothing is being done anticipating something else.  We do something only if a need arises.  When ‘In case ‘ is used in the past , it explains why we did something in the past.

IN CASE and IF compared.

• You may keep the file with you in case the Director asks for more details.( here  one is being advised to keep the file with them which may or may not become necessary).
• If the Director asks for more details, you may come and collect the file from me. ( in this case, one is not taking the file with them in advance).
• I kept the file with me in case the Director asked for more details.(we did something in anticipation of something else and whether it happened or not is not explained here )
• We will book one more room in the hotel in case the Director wants to stay.( we are not sure whether the Director will stay or not, but we have decided to book a room for him)
• We will book one more room if the Director wants to stay.( here the booking of room will be done only if  the Director wants to stay.)
• I will give you my phone number in case you need to contact me.( here the phone number is being given in advance to be used in case of a necessity)
• I gave him my phone number in case he wanted to contact me( past situation ).
• I will send you a helper if you need his help. (i.e you can ask for a helper only if such a need arises.)

Note :  However, in certain situations ‘ IN CASE’ is seen used in place of ‘IF’.

• In case I forget please remind me of the gift to be purchased .( here  in case= if)
• You can phone me in case you have any problem.( here  in case= if)

OUGHT TO and SHOULD : They are often interchangeable but only in the sense of obligation.  Similarly ‘ Ought to have -ed ‘ can be replaced by ‘ Should have  -ed ‘. The moral force of ‘Ought to ‘ is more than ‘ Should ‘ , but less than ‘ Must ‘.  The moral force concerning the above can be arranged in the following ascending order.

SHOULD——— OUGHT TO———–MUST.

• You ought to help him.  OR -You should help him. (i.e you are obliged to help him)
• You ought to have gone there.  OR – You should have gone there( i.e you were obliged or supposed to go there but you didn’t do)

The negatives are :

Ought to                           – Ought not to

Ought to have———ed   – Ought not to have—–ed

Examples:

• You oughtn’t  to tell him about the incident. OR – You shouldn’t tell him about the incident.  ( i.e something that you should not tell him)
• You oughtn’t to have told him about the incident. OR – You should not have told him about the incident.( i.e you told him something which you were not supposed to)