Modals · CEFR B2 · Confident
should be done — English modal verbs
A modal and a passive together. Extremely common at work, where the instruction matters and the person does not.
The shape
must / should / can + be + third form
Say what has to be done without saying who does it.
In Hindi
modal और passive साथ में। दफ़्तर में बहुत आम, जहाँ काम मायने रखता है, करने वाला नहीं।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
The form must be fill today. | The form must be filled today. After "be" the verb takes its third form. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
- Active vs PassiveB2Talk about what was done without saying who did it
- should / ought toA2Give advice without sounding like an order
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the should be done used for?
- A modal and a passive together. Extremely common at work, where the instruction matters and the person does not. In practice: say what has to be done without saying who does it.
- How do you form the should be done?
- must / should / can + be + third form.
- What is the most common mistake with the should be done?
- Saying “The form must be fill today.” instead of “The form must be filled today.”. After "be" the verb takes its third form.
Where should be done fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
should be done is a CEFR B2 structure — the confident band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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