should in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

Translations for should in the English»French Dictionary

should [Brit ʃʊd, Am ʃʊd, ʃəd] VB mod conditional of shall

1. should (ought to):

you shouldn't smoke so much

tu ne devrais pas fumer autant

you should have told me before

tu aurais dû me le dire avant

we should try and understand him better

nous devrions essayer de mieux le comprendre

why shouldn't I do it?

pourquoi est-ce que je ne le ferais pas?

I should explain that …

je devrais peut-être expliquer que …

we should be there by six o'clock

nous devrions arriver vers six heures

dinner should be ready by now

le dîner devrait être prêt maintenant

it shouldn't be difficult to convince them

ça ne devrait pas être difficile de les convaincre

that should be them arriving now!

ça doit être eux qui arrivent!

how should I know?

comment veux-tu que je le sache?

everything is as it should be

tout est en ordre

…which is only as it should be

…ce qui est parfaitement normal

his hearing is not as good as it should be

il entend moins bien qu'il (ne) le devrait

flowers! you shouldn't have!

des fleurs! il ne fallait pas!

2. should (in conditional sentences):

had he asked me, I should have accepted

s'il me l'avait demandé, j'aurais accepté

if they didn't invite me, I should be offended

s'ils ne m'invitaient pas, je serais très vexé

had they invited me, I should have gone

s'ils m'avaient invité, j'y serais allé

I don't think it will happen, but if it should…

je ne pense pas que cela arrive, mais si toutefois cela arrivait…

should you be interested, I can give you some more information

si cela vous intéresse, je peux vous donner plus de renseignements

if you should change your mind, don't hesitate to contact me

si vous changez d 'avis n'hésitez pas à me contacter

should anybody phone, tell them I'm out

si quelqu'un téléphone, dis que je suis sorti

should the opportunity arise

si l'occasion se présente

3. should (expressing purpose):

she simplified it in order that they should understand

elle l'a simplifié pour qu'ils comprennent

he kept it a secret from them so that they should not be worried

il le leur a caché pour qu'ils ne se fassent pas de soucis

we are anxious that he should succeed

nous souhaitons vivement qu'il réussisse

4. should (in polite formulas):

I should like a drink

je prendrais volontiers un verre

I should like to go there

j'aimerais bien y aller

5. should (expressing opinion, surprise):

I should think so!

je l'espère!

I should think not!

j'espère bien que non!

‘how long will it take?’—‘an hour, I should think’

‘combien de temps est-ce que ça va prendre?’—‘une heure, je suppose’

I should think she must be about 40

à mon avis, elle doit avoir 40 ans environ

‘I'll pay you for it’—‘I should hope so!’

‘je vous le rembourserai’—‘je l'espère bien!’

I should say so!

et comment!

I shouldn't be surprised if she did that!

cela ne m'étonnerait pas qu'elle le fasse!

I shouldn't worry about it if I were you

moi à ta place je ne m'en ferais pas inf

I shouldn't worry about it if I were you

si j'étais toi je ne m'inquiéterais pas

I should have thought he'd be glad of a holiday

j'aurais pensé qu'il serait content de partir en vacances

who should walk in but John!

devine qui est arrivé—John!

and then what should happen, but it began to rain!

et devine quoi—il s'est mis à pleuvoir!

See also shall

shall [Brit ʃal, ʃ(ə)l, Am ʃæl, ʃəl] VB mod When shall is used to form the future tense in English, the same rules apply as for will. You will find a note on this and on question tags and short answers near the entry will .

1. shall (in future tense):

I shall or I'll see you tomorrow

je vous verrai demain

we shall not or shan't have a reply before Friday

nous n'aurons pas de réponse avant vendredi

2. shall (in suggestions):

shall I set the table?

est-ce que je mets la table?

shall we go to the cinema tonight?

et si on allait au cinéma ce soir?

let's buy some peaches, shall we?

et si on achetait des pêches?

3. shall (in commands, contracts etc) form:

you shall do as I say

tu dois faire ce que je te dis

the sum shall be paid on signature of the contract

le montant devra être versé à la signature du contrat

thou shalt not steal BIBL

tu ne voleras point

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

this should simplify matters

cela devrait simplifier les choses

it is unwarrantable that sb should do

il est injustifiable de la part de qn de faire

you don't have to tell him, nor should you

tu n'es pas obligé de le lui dire, tu ferais même mieux d'éviter

customers should uncheck the box for travel insurance

le client doit décocher la case assurance voyage

she burned her letters lest he (should or might) read them

elle a brûlé ses lettres de crainte qu'il ne les lise

lest anyone should ask you

au cas où quelqu'un vous le demanderait

I was afraid lest he might or should die

j'avais peur qu'il ne meure

Translations for should in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

normalement elle devrait être là

she should be here by now

intransportable blessé

who should not be moved attr, après n

s'il survient un problème

should any problem arise

s'il survient qn liter

should anyone arrive

l'assaisonnement d'une viande se fait avant la cuisson

meat should be seasoned before cooking

should in the PONS Dictionary

Translations for should in the English»French Dictionary

should [ʃʊd] VB aux

1. should (advisability, expectation):

I/you should

je/tu devrais

to insist that one should do sth

insister pour que qn fasse qc subj

2. should (asking for advice):

should I ...?

est-ce que je dois ...?

3. should (might):

for fear that sb/sth should ...

si jamais qn/qc ...

if I should fall

au cas où je tomberais

4. should form (would):

I should like ...

je voudrais ...

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

I think you should reconsider

je crois que vous devriez y repenser

it should be a discouragement to thieves

cela devrait dissuader les voleurs

maybe we should stop

on devrait peut-être s'arrêter

alcohol should be avoided

éviter l'alcool

Translations for should in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

t'en fais une sacrée binette

you should see your face

les peines doivent être modulées en fonction des délits

sentences should fit the crime

il est fâcheux que qn fasse qc (subj)

it's unfortunate that sb should do sth

il est désolant qu'elle le fasse (subj)

it's dreadful that she should do it

une table bonne à mettre au rancart

a table that should be junked

should Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

it should be a discouragement to thieves

cela devrait dissuader les voleurs

she didn't win although she should have

elle n'a pas gagné pourtant elle aurait du

should I come? - no, don't

dois-je venir - non, surtout pas

children should be seen and not heard prov

on devrait pouvoir profiter des enfants sans les désagréments

he of all people should know better

lui, plus que tout le monde, devrait savoir

it's dreadful that she should do it

il est désolant qu'elle le fasse (subj)

a table that should be junked

une table bonne à mettre au rancart

this film should be released next month

la sortie de ce film est prévue pour le mois prochain

this wine should be served chilled

ce vin se sert frais

according to my sister, we should ...

avec ma sœur, il faudrait ...

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English

The ventilator top was not unsealed as it should have been when it was installed.

en.wikipedia.org

Typically, no action has been taken by governments against such usurpation: the viewpoint is rather the contrary, namely that comunidades should disappear.

en.wikipedia.org

It also should be avoided by patients with peptic ulcer disease or poor kidney function, since this medication can worsen both conditions.

en.wikipedia.org

The first retorted that the second should fly off his ground.

en.wikipedia.org

They should find out if their mortgage company is willing to give them a bridge loan.

www.theglobeandmail.com

Hit enter and the command prompt window should open for you.

www.cnet.com

At the restarts, there were a number of cars 5 car lengths behind the car in front which should mean a stop-go penalty but these incidents went unpunished.

en.wikipedia.org

However, the simulations should be long enough to be relevant to the time scales of the natural processes being studied.

en.wikipedia.org

As with a safe word call from any other, it should herald the stopping all play and a recuperative discussion between the participants.

en.wikipedia.org

The government should adopt advanced coal conversion technology to transform inefficient gas-based and dual-fuel fired power plants to coal-fired power plants, he said.

nation.com.pk