Word.ws English Dictionary

shouldst

More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations

stressed/ʃʊdst/unstressed/ʃədst/

shouldst is the second-person singular present of should.

shouldst is the second-person singular simple past indicative of shall.

Meaning of should

Verb

should (third-person singular simple present should, no present participle, no simple past or past participle)

  1. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle) Used to issue an instruction (traditionally seen as carrying less force of authority than alternatives such as 'shall' or 'must').
    • You should never drink and drive.
  2. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle) Used to give advice or opinion that an action is, or would have been, beneficial or desirable.
    • You should go and see that film. I think you'll enjoy it.
  3. (auxiliary, defective, informal, modal, no-past, no-present-participle) With verbs such as 'see' or 'hear', usually in the second person, used to point out something remarkable in either a good or bad way.
    • You should see his new apartment. It's like a palace!
  4. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle) In questions, asks what is correct, proper, desirable, etc.
    • What do you think? What should I do?
  5. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle) Indicates that something is expected to have happened or to be the case now.
    • They should have finished by now; I'll call them to check.
  6. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past, no-present-participle, participle) Will be likely to (become or do something); indicates a degree of possibility or probability that the stated thing will happen or be true in the future.
    • They should have it finished by Friday.

See all 12 meanings of should

Meaning of shall

Verb

shall (third-person singular simple present shall, no present participle, simple past should, no past participle)

  1. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past-participle, no-present-participle) Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.
    • I shall sing in the choir tomorrow.
  2. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past-participle, no-present-participle) Used similarly to indicate determination or obligation in the second and third persons singular or plural.
    • (determination): You shall go to the ball!; He shall be given a fair trial.
  3. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past-participle, no-present-participle) Used in questions with the first person singular or plural to suggest a possible future action.
    • What shall I do? Shall I give you a hand?
  4. (auxiliary, defective, modal, no-past-participle, no-present-participle, obsolete) To owe.
    • I thee shall a hundred golden coins; th'amount thou shalt the Queen is much higher.

Forms of shouldst

alternative formshou'dst
alternative formshould'st
alternative formshouldest

Questions about shouldst

What is shouldst the second-person singular present of?
Shouldst is the second-person singular present of should.
How do you pronounce shouldst?
Shouldst is pronounced /ʃʊdst/ (stressed).

Words near shouldst in the dictionary

  1. shouldna
  2. shouldnae
  3. shouldnt
  4. shoulds
  5. shoulds on
  6. shouldst
  7. shouldve
  8. Shoults
  9. Shoultz
  10. Shoultzes
  11. Shoun

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shouldst (page history and authors); should (page history and authors); shall (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-shouldst.wav.

Cite this entry: “shouldst.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shouldst. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.