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When would and should function as past tenses of will and shall, their usage tends to correspond to that of the latter verbs (would is used analogously to will, and should to shall). Thus would and should can be used with "future-in-the-past" meaning, to express what was expected to happen, or what in fact did happen, after some past time of ...
The English modal auxiliary verbs are a subset of the English auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality, properties such as possibility and obligation. [a] They can most easily be distinguished from other verbs by their defectiveness (they do not have participles or plain forms [b]) and by their lack of the ending ‑(e)s for the third-person singular.
The following sentences illustrate epistemic and deontic uses of the English modal verb must: epistemic: You must be starving. ("I think it is almost a certainty that you are starving.") deontic: You must leave now. ("You are required to leave now.") An ambiguous case is You must speak Spanish.
Although the consequence in first conditional sentences is usually expressed using the will (or shall) future (usually the simple future, though future progressive, future perfect and future perfect progressive are used as appropriate), other variations are also possible – it may take the form of an imperative, it may use another modal verb ...
That you should think, we come not to offend, But with good will. To show our simple skill, That is the true beginning of our end. Consider then we come but in despite. We do not come as minding to content you, Our true intent is. All for your delight We are not here. That you should here repent you, The actors are at hand and by their show
' I should sing ' — referred to as onvoltooid verleden toekomende tijd 'imperfect past future tense' Ik zou gegaan zijn 'I would have gone', lit. ' I should have gone ' — referred to as voltooid verleden toekomende tijd 'perfect past future tense' The latter tense is sometimes replaced by the past perfect (plusquamperfect). Ik was gegaan, lit.
However, the term "future tense" is sometimes applied to periphrastic constructions involving modals such as will, shall, and to be going to. For specific uses of future constructions formed with will/shall, see the sections below on simple future, future progressive, future perfect, and future perfect progressive. Don't go near that bomb!
The will/shall future consists of the modal verb will or shall together with the bare infinitive of the main verb, as in "He will win" or "I shall win". ( Prescriptive grammarians prefer will in the second and third persons and shall in the first person, reversing the forms to express obligation or determination, but in practice shall and will ...