should
verb auxiliaryUsed to say what is the right or good thing to do.
verb auxiliaryUsed to say what you expect to happen or be true.
verb auxiliaryUsed to ask what is right or correct to do.
verb auxiliaryUsed to tell someone what to do in a polite way.
"should" does not follow standard phonics patterns and should be memorized.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: SH Digraph
S and H together make the quiet sound /ʃ/, like in 'ship' and 'fish'.
The digraph 'sh' makes the /ʃ/ sound. Think of the 'shh, be quiet' sound. It can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
Tip
SH says 'shhh' — be quiet on the ship!
Examples
Phonics Rule: OU says /ʊ/
OU can say the short /ʊ/ sound (like 'book'), in 'could', 'would', and 'should'.
In the helper words could, would, and should, OULD says /ʊd/ — the OU makes the short /ʊ/ sound and the L is silent.
Tip
Could, would, should — all sound alike!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Silent L
Sometimes the L is silent — you don't say it, like in 'could', 'would', and 'half'.
In some words the L is silent. You see it, but you don't say it. This happens in the helper words could, should, and would, and in words like half, calf, calm, palm, and yolk. (When L comes before K it also goes silent — walk, talk, chalk — but there the A+L team already spells the vowel sound.)
Tip
Sometimes L is silent — you could, would, should not say it!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter D
The letter D makes the /d/ sound, like in 'dog', 'day', and 'dig'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
D is a voiced alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge just behind the upper front teeth, then releases with voice. It reliably makes the /d/ sound in almost all positions.
Tip
D is for dog — and dog starts with /d/!
Examples
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