​‘Should’, ‘would’ and ‘could’ are auxiliary verbs that can sometimes get confusing. They are the past tense of ‘shall’, ‘will’ and ‘can’ but are also used in other situations.

​Auxiliar Verbs

Should

​‘Should’ can be used:

To ask questions

Examples:

“Should we turn left at this street?”

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?”

To show obligation, give recommendation or even an opinion

Examples:

“You should stop eating fast food.”

“You should go for walks more often.”

“We should go to the park tomorrow.”

“He should go to the pharmacy first thing in the morning.”

To express something that is probable

Examples:

“John should be here by 2:00 PM.”

“He should be bringing Jennifer with him.

Should

‘Would’ can be used:

To ask ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’ or ‘how’ (not always, but often)

“How would you do that?”

“What would you do if…”

“When would we have time to do that?”

“Who would want to wait in that line?”

“If I had a lot of money I would like to own a farm one day.”
“I would love to buy a boat one day.”

In hypothetical situations

“Would you like any tea?”
“Would you like anything else?”

To make a polite request

Would

‘Could’ can be used:

​To suggest a possibility

“Whose journal is this? It could be Nelly’s journal.”
“Could ‘A’ be the answer? It’s definitely not ‘B’ or ‘D.’”

“Could you please move this box?” “I could, but I am really busy right now.”
“Could you please pass that paper.” “Sure, I can.”

​Using the word ‘could’ to respond to the requests we made in the last example would suggest that you could do it, but you might not really want to. If you agree to the request, then you use the word ‘can’.

“Could you please move this box?”
“Could you please pass that paper?”

To make a polite request

Could