Should and But

Handout for March 23, 2009, “Should and But“. You can say many useful things with “should” and “but”. Some rules: If “should” is on one side of the sentence, then it isn’t on the other side. If a negative (“not”) is on one side, then it isn’t on the other side. If “should” is on one side, then the negative is on the other side. If “shouldn’t” is on one side, then neither “should” nor the negative are on the other side It isn’t necessary to repeat the verb in the second half of the sentence. Even though the rules are there, don’t worry about them! Just practice the examples, until the structure comes naturally.

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First rule: If “should” is on one side of the sentence, then it isn’t on the other side.

Should on one side:

should	but
I should study	but	I don’t.
He should be wearing boots	but	he isn’t.
They should visit their cousins.	but	they don’t.

Should  on the other side:

	but	should
I don’t study	but	I should.
He doesn’t wear boots	but	he should.
They don’t visit their cousins	but	they should.

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Second rule: If  a negative (“not”) is on one side, then it isn’t on the other side.

Negative on one side:

	but	negative
I should study	but	I don’t.
He should be wearing boots	but	he isn’t.
They should visit their cousins.	but	they don’t.

Negative on the other side:

negative	but
I don’t study	but	I should.
He doesn’t wear boots	but	he should.
They don’t visit their cousins	but	they should.

Practice:

	but
They should _____________the violin every day		they ________________.
We don’t     _______________  in the morning		we _________________.
He doesn’t ________________ his dog every day		he _________________.

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Third rule: If “should” is on one side, then the negative is on the other side.
Should on the left, negative on the right:

should	but	negative
I should study	but	I don’t.
He should be wearing boots	but	he isn’t.
They should visit their cousins	but	they don’t.

Should on the right, negative on the left:

negative	but	should
I don’t study	but	I should.
He doesn’t wear boots	but	he should.
They don’t visit their cousins	but	they should.

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Fourth rule: If “shouldn’t” is on one side, then neither “should” nor the negative are on the other side.

Shouldn’t on the left:

shouldn’t	but
I shouldn’t sleep in class	but	I do.
He shouldn’t be wearing sandals	but	he is.
They shouldn’t drink too much whisky	but	they do.

Shouldn’t on the right:

	but	shouldn’t
I sleep in class	but	I shouldn’t.
He is wearing sandals	but	he shouldn’t be.
They drink too much whisky	but	they shouldn’t.

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Fifth rule: It isn’t necessary to repeat the verb in the second half of the sentence.

	but		unnecessary
I sleep in class	but	I shouldn’t.	sleep in class.
I shouldn’t sleep in class	but	I do.	sleep in class.
I don’t study English at home	but	I should.	study English at home.
I should study English at home	but	I don’t.	study English at home.

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