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To vs Should - What's the difference?

to | should |

As nouns the difference between to and should

is that to is thaw, weather conditions that make snow and ice melt while should is a statement of what should be the case as opposed to what is the case.

As a verb should is

(auxiliary).

to

English

Alternative forms

* (dialectal) ter * (contraction) t' * (abbreviation)

Particle

(en-part)
  • I want to leave.
    He asked me what to do.
    I don’t know how to say it.
    I have places to''' go and people '''to see.
  • * 1711 , :
  • To' err is human, ' to forgive divine.
  • * , Scene 1:
  • To be, or not to be: that is the question: /
  • * 2010 July, , headline [http://web.archive.org/web/20100705003703/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gfMucgz8wUGUNUNXRyIyqzY6lWwQD9GM98N83]:
  • Odds are, BP to get new CEO this year
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=April 10 , author=Alistair Magowan , title=Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=To' that end, the home supporters were in good voice ' to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.}}
  • "Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to , but it was closed."
    If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to .

    Derived terms

    * going to / gonna * got to / gotta * have to / hafta * ought to / oughta * supposed to / supposta * used to / usta * want to / wanna * fixing to / finna

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • In the direction of, and arriving at.
  • We are walking to the shop.
  • * 2013 September 28, , " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
  • Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.
  • He devoted himself to education.
    They drank to his health.
  • That is something to do.
  • His face was beaten to a pulp.
  • similar to''' ...'', ''relevant '''to''' ...'', ''pertinent '''to''' ...'', ''I was nice '''to''' him'', ''he was cruel '''to''' her'', ''I am used '''to walking.
  • (arithmetic)
  • one to one = 1:1
    ten to one = 10:1.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=April 22 , author=Sam Sheringham , title=Liverpool 0-1 West Brom , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.}}
  • (arithmetic) .
  • Three squared or three to the second power is nine.
    Three to the power of two is nine.
    Three to the second is nine.
  • I gave the book to him.
  • (time) Preceding.
  • ten to''' ten'' = 9:50; ''We're going to leave at ten '''to (the hour).
  • (Canada, UK, Newfoundland, West Midlands) at
  • Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

    See also

    * at

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.
  • Please push the door to .
  • * 1913 ,
  • He went in his room, pushed the door to , without fastening the latch.
  • (nautical) Into the wind.
  • Synonyms

    * closed, shut

    Antonyms

    * open, ajar

    See also

    * come to * heave to * lean-to * set-to * to and fro * (English Citations of "to")

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

    Statistics

    *

    should

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (obsolete)

    Verb

    (head)
  • (auxiliary)
  • If I should be late, go without me.
    Should you need extra blankets, you will find them in the closet.
  • * 1922 , (Margery Williams), (The Velveteen Rabbit)
  • 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.
  • (auxiliary) Be obliged to; have an obligation to; ought to;
  • You should brush your teeth every day.
    What do I think? What should I think?
  • * {{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);
  • You should be warm enough with that coat.
  • (modern) A variant of would.
  • * 1817 , Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey?
  • I should like to dine with him. I dare say he gives famous dinners.
  • * 1900 , , (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
  • "If our friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, were only with us," said the Lion, "I should be quite happy."
  • * 1900 , L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23
  • "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) ought

    Antonyms

    * (obligation) shouldn't

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • 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. citation

    See also

    * precatory * * (projectlink) * (projectlink) * (projectlink)