Should vs Better - What's the difference?
should | better |
(auxiliary)
* 1922 , (Margery Williams), (The Velveteen Rabbit)
(auxiliary) Be obliged to; have an obligation to; ought to;
* {{quote-news
, date = 21 August 2012
, first = Ed
, last = Pilkington
, title = Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?
, newspaper = The Guardian
, url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/21/death-penalty-trial-reggie-clemons?newsfeed=true
, page =
, passage = Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die?
}}
* '>citation
(auxiliary) Will likely (become or do something);
(modern) A variant of would.
* 1817 , Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey?
* 1900 , , (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
* 1900 , L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23
A statement of what should be the case as opposed to what is the case.
* {{quote-book, year=2003, title=Overcoming Resistance in Cognitive Therapy, author=Robert L. Leahy
, passage=However, we can address maladaptive shoulds by examining the differences between prior events, causes, proximate causes, and moral responsibility.
(good)
* {{quote-video, date = 2002-11-01
, title =
, episode =
, number = 4
, passage = Badger:'' You think you're better''' than other people.
''Mal:'' Just the ones I'm ' better than. }} (well)
larger, greater
* 1901 , ,
More, in reference to value, distance, time, etc.
To improve.
* Wordsworth
* Thackeray
* Macaulay
To become better; to improve.
To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
* Hooker
To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
* Milton
(slang) Had better.
An entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another; one who has a claim to precedence; a superior.
* Hooker
As verbs the difference between should and better
is that should is Used to form the future tense of the subjunctive mood, usually in the first person.better is to improve.As nouns the difference between should and better
is that should is a statement of what should be the case as opposed to what is the case while better is an entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another; one who has a claim to precedence; a superior.As an adjective better is
comparative of good.As an adverb better is
comparative of well POS=adverb.should
English
Alternative forms
* (obsolete)Verb
(head)- If I should be late, go without me.
- Should you need extra blankets, you will find them in the closet.
- It was a long weary time, for the Boy was too ill to play, and the little Rabbit found it rather dull with nothing to do all day long. But he snuggled down patiently, and looked forward to the time when the Boy should be well again, and they would go out in the garden amongst the flowers and the butterflies and play splendid games in the raspberry thicket like they used to.
- You should brush your teeth every day.
- What do I think? What should I think?
- You should be warm enough with that coat.
- I should like to dine with him. I dare say he gives famous dinners.
- "If our friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, were only with us," said the Lion, "I should be quite happy."
- "Your Silver Shoes will carry you over the desert," replied Glinda. "If you had known their power you could have gone back to your Aunt Em the very first day you came to this country." "But then I should not have had my wonderful brains!" cried the Scarecrow. "I might have passed my whole life in the farmer's cornfield."
Usage notes
* Should'' has, as its most common meaning in modern English, the sense ''ought'' as in ''I should go, but I don't see how I can''. However, the older sense as the subjunctive of the future indicative auxiliary, ''shall'', is often used with ''I'' or ''we'' to indicate a more polite form than ''would'': ''I should like to go, but I can't''. In much speech and writing, ''should'' has been replaced by ''would'' In contexts of this kind, but it remains in conditional subjunctives: ''should'' (never ''would'') ''I go, I should wear my new dress . * (obligation) Contrast with stronger auxiliary verb (must), which indicates that the subject is required to execute the predicate. * (likely) Contrast with stronger auxiliary verb (must), which indicates that the subject certainly will execute the predicate. * See the usage notes at (shall).Synonyms
* (obligation) oughtAntonyms
* (obligation) shouldn'tNoun
(en noun)citation
See also
* precatory * * (projectlink) * (projectlink) * (projectlink)better
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) better, bettre, betre, from (etyl) .Adjective
(head)''Mal:'' Just the ones I'm ' better than. }}
Derived terms
* better dead than red * better half * better off * betterness * better part of * get betterAdverb
(head)- “I’ve had enough of cycling with you chaps. I can spend my Sundays better than in tormenting cats and quarrelling and fighting.”
- ten miles and better
Derived terms
* had better * 'd betterVerb
(en verb)- Love betters what is best.
- He thought to better his circumstances.
- the constant effort of every man to better himself
- (Carlyle)
- The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered .
- Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.
- You better do that if you know what's good for you.
Derived terms
* betterer * bettermentSynonyms
* See alsoNoun
(en noun)- He quickly found Ali his better in the ring.
- Their betters would hardly be found.