1. English Grammar
  2. Verbs
  3. Modal verbs
  4. Suggestions and obligations

Suggestions and obligations

Level: beginner

Suggestions

We use should and shouldn't to make suggestions and give advice:

You should send an email.
You shouldn’t go by train.

We also use could to make positive suggestions:

We could meet at the weekend.
You could eat out tonight.

Level: intermediate

We can use conditionals to give advice:

Dan will help you if you ask him.

Past tenses are more polite:

Dan would help you if you asked him.

Suggestions 1

ReorderingHorizontal_MTYzNjM=

Suggestions 2

GapFillTyping_MTYzNjQ=

Level: beginner

Obligations

We use must or need to to say that it is necessary to do something:

You must stop at a red light.
Everyone needs to bring something to eat.
You can wear what you like, but you must look neat and tidy.

We use mustn't for prohibitions – to say that it is necessary to not do something:

You mustn't make any noise in the library.
You mustn't say anything to her. It's a surprise.

We use had to (positive) and couldn't (negative) if we are talking about the past:

Everyone had to bring something to eat.
You couldn't make any noise in the library.

Obligations 1

MultipleChoice_MTYzNjU=

Obligations 2

GapFillTyping_MTYzNjY=

 

Average
Average: 4 (47 votes)
Resource skill
Grammar
Resource type
Grammar reference

Hello Mr. Peter,

Thank you for your explanation.
However, I believe the way I put my ideas was not clear.

I know that "suggest" cannot be followed directly by "should (not)", as in:
>She suggested shouldn't have a National Health Service.

What I was asking is, is it standard English to use "should (not)" in "suggest + that clause" or is it a habitual use (like double negatives) which then become acceptable in informal contexts, as in:
> She suggested that we shouldn't have a National Health Service.

Hieu Nguyen

Hello again Hieu Nguyen,

It's fine to use 'should not' like this. Your example is perfectly correct and in no way non-standard.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you for your clarification, Mr. Pete.

Normally, I would only use "should not" after "suggest" to mean "show" or "express", as in:
> The result suggests that we shouldn't...

Now, I think I'll start using "should not" after "suggest" when I make a recommendation or give someone else advice in some case without worrying too much.