Plain English

by Marian Wharton

Fill the blank spaces in the following sentences with the appropriate forms of the helping verbs, shall, will, have, had and be.

1. When......the workers organize?
2. Education......help us win.
3. The world......had enough of war.
4. We......deceived by the masters.
5. The workers......organized into craft unions.
6. They......never ceased the struggle.
7. The state......founded on exploitation.
8. Mutual aid......been an important factor in evolution.
9. The truth......taught to the people.
10. The victory......gained by the proletariat.
11. The nations of Europe......preparing for war for years.
12. The International......recognized war for defense.
13. We......not made the class distinctions, but we......recognize them as long as they exist.
14. The evolution of animals and the evolution of plants......proceeded according to the same general laws.
15. We......never win while the majority remains ignorant.
16. The strikers......betrayed by their leaders.

SHOULD AND WOULD

170. Should and would are the past-time forms of shall and will. We use them to express action or existence dependent upon some condition, thus:

• I should go if I were well enough.
• He should join us if you asked him.

In these sentences should and would express action which is possible now or will be in the future, provided some other action takes place.

The same distinction which we found made in the use shall and will has been made with should and would; that is, that should used with the first person, expresses action dependent upon condition; but would, used with the first person, implies exercise of the will. This rule is not closely followed, though it expresses a nice distinction in the use of should and would. In ordinary usage we use either should or would with the first person without any distinction of meaning, as for example:

• I should struggle on even if it meant death.
• I would stand for my principles though I stood entirely alone.

We do not use should however, with the second and third persons to express an action or existence dependent upon some condition. Should used with the second and third person implies obligation. Would is used with the second or third person to express an action dependent upon some condition, as for example:

• He would not go, even if you insisted.
• They would come if you invited them.
• You would believe him if you could hear him.
• You would be surprised if I should tell you the reason.