by R. S. Karunaratne

Know when to use 'should'

As a modal verb 'should' expresses desirability. It also expresses probability.

Contractions

Should not: Shouldn't

Should have: Should've

Should not have: Shouldn't have

1. 'Should' is used to say what is a good thing to do. It is also used to give advice.

You should phone the police.

A: Are you taking part in the debate?

B: Maybe, I should.

You shouldn't break rest.

She should have answered all the questions.

2. 'Should ' can be used to say what is necessary or forbidden.

Heavy vehicles shouldn't use the bridge.

You should be punctual.

3. 'Should' is used to say that you expect or hope something to be the case.

Phone father; he should be home by now.

The weather should clear up tomorrow.

Wait! She shouldn't be long.

4. 'Should' is used to say that you expect something to have happened already.

The train should have been here an hour ago.

They should have built the bridge by the end of this year.

5. 'Should' is used to say that something was expected or desirable, although it did not happen.

She should have told me that she wasn't coming.

The police should have arrested the errant bus driver.

They should have postponed the meeting.

6. 'Should' is used to say that something was not a good thing to do, although it happened.

The terrorists shouldn't have demolished the Bamian Buddha statue.

You shouldn't have scolded her; go and apologise.

7. Common combinations

With a little more effort you should be able to solve the problem.

It should be possible for anyone to visit Sigiriya.

You should be grateful to him for giving you a job.

You should be clear in your speech.

Children should be encouraged to read books.

People's grievances should be considered by the government.

Dangerous games should be avoided by children.

Patients should be treated with compassion.

8. Set phrases

A: Wimal says he'll help us.

B: I should think so.

You should've seen the look on his face when I gave him an ice cream!

Know your idioms

Idiomatic expressions are forceful, vivid and brief. At the same time, idioms are the most difficult part of the language. Tick off (a), (b) or (c) which you think is nearest in meaning to the idioms given below. Check your answers with the key.

1. Get lost! I'm not in the mood for your jokes. (informal)

(a) go away

(b) get stranded

(c) enjoy

2. I bought this house on the spur of the moment and now I regret it.

(a) secretly

(b) without planning beforehand

(c) carefully

3. Meetings give workers the chance to let off steam.

(a) scold

(b) apologise

(c) express feelings openly

4. He felt out of his element when he was asked to deliver a talk.

(a) in an unfamiliar situation

(b) happy

(c) angry

5. When I stepped into the shop the salesman started giving me the hard sell.

(a) a friendly welcome

(b) ruthless way of selling goods

(c) all the assistance

6. I always recall the halcyon days of childhood.

(a) unhappy days

(b) playful days

(c) a very happy period

7. The chairman criticised the members of his party for sitting on the fence.

(a) delaying the making of a decision

(b) supporting the opposition

(c) getting absent

8. 'I hate this stuff!" he said, making a face.

(a) expressing happiness

(b) expressing pain

(c) making an unpleasant expression

9. Extremists are crawling out of the woodwork during the election time.

(a) making progress

(b) appearing after being hidden

(c) hiding in the jungle

10. Election posters are becoming a real money-spinner for advertising agencies.

(a) threat

(b) entertainment

(c) business that makes a lot of money

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Key: 1. (a), 2. (b), 3. (c), 4. (a), 5. (b), 6. (c), 7. (a), 8. (c), 9. (b), 10. (c).

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Starters :

Use articles correctly

There are two types of articles:

The definite article:The

Indefinite articles: A, An

Let’s first learn how to use indefinite articles.

1. As a rule, ‘a’ and ‘an’ are used with singular nouns only.

I saw a cat sleeping on a mat.

A boy jumped over the fence.

Give me a biscuit, I’m hungry.

She carries an umbrella wherever she goes.

An umpire’s decision should be respected.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

2. ‘A’ is used with singular nouns which begin with consonant sounds. The consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z.

Father bought me a computer.

A town is bigger than a village.

A unit was set up to handle public complaints.

I saw a student entering the classroom.

She pinned a rose on my coat.

We visited a farm on our way to Anuradhapura.

One day a plant will be a tree.

3. ‘An’ is used with singular nouns which begin with vowel sounds. The Vowels are: a, e, i, o, u.

She gave me an orchid and a rose.

You have to sit an examination at the end of the semester.

On the death of her rich father Sarala become an heiress to his property.

Give me an envelope.

4. ‘A’ is used before adjectives with consonant sounds.

His father is a rich merchant.

We are looking after a homeless child.

A friendly boy gave us the directions.

He cut down a big house.

5.’An’ is used before adjectives with vowel sounds.

He narrated an interesting story.

Sam is an honest shopkeeper.

The place had an evil atmosphere.

An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.

Why are you giving me an empty purse?

The prisoner is held in an undisclosed location.

(To be continued).

Match the Synonyms

A synonym is a word or phrase which has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language. Match the words in column A with those in column B.

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Key :

1. J 2. I, 3. H, 4. G, 5. F, 6. E, 7. D, 8. C, 9. B,

10. A

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