Objectives

• Learners are able to understand the expressions of giving advice using ‘should’
• Learners are able to use expressions of giving advice using ‘should’

Learn about it!

Look at the picture below!

we see some books in the picture, the boy looks tired and seems unwell. Perhaps, He studied hard last night or getting an exam the next day. What should he do?
He should take a rest or stop studying.

What should they do?

Pay attention to the following dialogue.

Now pay attention to the underlined sentences. Those sentences were used by Wina to advise Tony that if Tony went through Diponegoro street, he would get trapped in the traffic jam due to the landslide happening in Diponegoro street. You can use the following expression if you want to give advice to someone.

Now, pay attention to the underlined sentences:

• Make sure we dispose the garbage in the proper places.
• Do not throw your garbage in the wrong place.

Those two sentences were used by the teacher to warn the students not to do something. The sentences are called warnings. A warning means giving information about something bad that may happen if someone does something.

The reason for giving warnings is the people who give warning wants the person become more careful. On the text, the teacher warns the students not to throw the garbage in the wrong place because the improper garbage disposal will cause flood.

The following are utterances generally used to give warning:

• Be careful of ....
• Don’t ....
• Beware!
• Beware of ....
• Look out!
• Watch out!
• Watch out for ....
• Make sure + subject + verb ....

SHOULD

Should is a modal verb.

With modals verbs, there is only one form of it for every subject pronoun:

·         I should

·         You should

·         He should

·         She should

·         It should

·         We should

·         They should

There is never an S at the end of should:

·         He shoulds study. (NOT CORRECT)

·         He should study. (CORRECT)

After Should we have the base form of the infinitive (= verb without ‘To’ e.g. Go instead of To Go)

Should + Verb (base form of infinitive)

·         You should go now. (Correct)

·         You should to go now. (NOT correct)

·         He should wait. (Correct)

·         He should waits. (NOT correct)

Example sentences with Should:

·         I should eat more vegetables.

·         You should take an umbrella.

·         He should go to the doctor.

·         She should apply for the job.

·         It should be fine.

·         We should study more.

·         They should wait until tomorrow.

One other thing, we do not pronounce the L in the word should. (Listen to the pronunciation of should in our video)

When do we use SHOULD in English?

1. To give advice, a recommendation or a suggestion

This is to say that it is the right thing to do or the correct thing.

·         You should see the new Star Wars movie. It’s great!

·         He should go to the dentist if his tooth still hurts.

·         The test is next week. We should study for it now.

·         You should try that new restaurant on Main Street.

2. To express that a situation is likely in the present or in the future. This is a type of expectation or prediction.

·         Mary should be at home now. Give her a call.

·         He should have the letter now. I sent it last week.

·         Our team should win the game on Saturday. (Because we have been training all month so it is our expectation, or prediction that we will win.)

·         It should be sunny tomorrow. 

3. Expresses an obligation that is not as strong as Must.

Sometimes Should is used instead of Must to make rules, orders or instructions sound more polite.

This may appear more frequently on formal notices or on information sheets.

·         Applications should be sent before the 30th.

·         He should drive more carefully.

·         Everyone should wear a seatbelt in a car.

·         You should pay more attention in class.

All of the above example sentences can have must instead of should making the obligation stronger and less polite.

For example: Applications must be sent before the 30^th.

4. Something was expected in the past but it didn’t happen (should + have + past participle)

This expresses the idea that the subject did not fulfill their obligation in the past or did not act responsibly.

·         Anna is late. She should have arrived by now.

·         I should have called Fred this morning but I forgot.

·         You should have given your boss the report yesterday when he asked for it.

5. Not fulfilling an obligation (should + be + verb-ing)

This expresses the idea that someone is not fulfilling their obligation or is not acting sensibly right now.

·         You should be wearing your seatbelt. (The person isn’t wearing one right now)

·         We should be studying for the exam. (We are not studying right now and we should be studying)

6. Sometimes should is replaced by ought to without a change in meaning. Note that ought to sounds more formal and is used less frequently.

·         You ought to go home now. (= You should go home now)

·         She ought to take her dog for more walks. (= She should take her dog…)

·         They ought to stop doing that. (= They should stop doing that)

Shouldn’t

The negative of should is shouldn’t or should not.
We almost always use the contraction shouldn’t in spoken English.

We use shouldn’t to advise not to do something, usually because it is bad or the wrong thing to do.

·         You shouldn’t eat that dessert if you are sick.

This is my recommendation not to do something, not to eat that dessert.

·         She shouldn’t buy that dress, it’s too big for her.

·         You look tired. You shouldn’t work so much.

·         He shouldn’t talk to his boss like that.

Notice how all of these sentences are about a recommendation or advice NOT to do something.

Think + should

We do not use: I think + shouldn’t.
We use: I DON’T think + should.

·         I think you shouldn’t go there. (NOT correct)

This is NOT correct because we don’t have the negative shouldn’t after I think.

Instead we make the verb THINK negative and say:

·         I don’t think you should go there. (Correct)

A couple more examples:

·         I don’t think he should eat that.

·         I don’t think we should start yet.

Should in Questions

We use should in questions when we want advice, a recommendation, or a suggestion.

Let’s look at this affirmative sentence:

·         I should go now.

How can we change this to a question?
We change the order of the modal verb should with the subject.
So the question becomes:

·         Should I go now?

A couple more examples…

·         Should I wear the green shirt? (I am asking for your advice or recommendation)

We can also have the W words like What, When, Why, etc. before the modal verb.

·         What should we do now? (What do you suggest?)

SHOULD Summary Chart

Understanding Descriptive Text

Objectives

Recognizing a descriptive text, the characteristics, composition, generic structure, and the choice of words.

Learn about it!

There are many texts you learn in English subject. One of them is a descriptive text. In this lesson, you will learn more about that kind of text.

What is a descriptive text?

Descriptive text is a text that describes the characteristics of a thing, a place, or a person. A descriptive text describes general things. It can be about food, animals, hobby, music, fashion, etc. In a descriptive text, the writer gives facts and opinions about those things. If the text describes a place, it explains why the place is special. If the text describes a person, it can explain about famous people or important people in the writer’s life.

What is the function of a descriptive text?

Descriptive text is to describe a particular person, place or thing. A descriptive text aims to show the reader what something or someone is like. By giving specific information about the object, the writers expects that the readers understand the same thing about the object being described.

What are the characteristics of a descriptive text?

A descriptive text starts with identification. It has general information of that thing of the thing that the text describes. It later gives description, in which there are more explanations about the thing. This is what people usually mean by generic structure.

The generic structure of a descriptive text is: identification and description.As long as there are those two points, a descriptive text can always be done. A descriptive text uses mostly present tense. However, the writer may also use other tenses depends on the needs.

Do you understand?

The examples of descriptive texts

• A descriptive text about a hobby

Riding a bicycle

My hobby is riding a bicycle. I usually go cycling with my high school friend on the weekends. Cycling is very relaxing. It doesn’t hard to do this activity. It gives a lot of fun in doing sport activity. I have a mountain bike, so I can go far to the higher place in my city. I always wear a helmet and gloves. Sometimes I use pads. But, if I just ride my bicycle around the neighborhood, I don’t use all of them. It is important to take care of the bike, so it will last long. I usually check the chains and gear, also the tires. If you drive a car, you should share the road with bicycles, and just like a car, a bicycle also needs to follow the traffic rules.

• A descriptive text about a person

image source: www.imdb.com
                                                                                                                              Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel was born in London on July 23rd, 1989. He is the only child in the family. He is the only child in his family. He has become a very famous actor after his role as the young wizard Harry Potter. He wanted to be an actor since he was five years old, and he said that he wanted to keep continue acting. He also wants to be a director one day. Daniel went to an all boy school. It means there is no girl at there. He loves play pranks on his friend. Just like many people from England, he loves football. He is a fan of Fulham football club. He also likes to watch wresting and formula one racing. He is a big fan of music too. He prefers punk rock.

• A descriptive text about a place

image source: www.birdpark.sg
                                                                                                                        Jurong Bird Park
Jurong Bird Park is one of the most interesting places to visit in Singapore. It is located in Jurong, an industrial area of Singapore. You have to go about twelve kilometers from the center of the city if you want to get there. You can get there by bus or taxi.
It is one of the world’s largest bird parks. There are almost all bird species there, including penguins, parrots, eagles, and ostriches. It has also fun exhibits, interactive shows, and of course, its charming residents. There is a large lake in the park. There is also a restaurant beside it. You have to take about two hours if you want to see all the birds there.

Keypoints

A descriptive text is a little bit different from the report text. In a report text, you can only write the facts about the thing, while in a descriptive text, the thing can be very specific such as your personal thing, and you can also share what you think about the thing you are describing.