Day 27 Speak Politely With Should Probably

Hi, I’m Vanessa from speakenglishwithvanessa.com. Today, I want to tell you about an expression that will help you to be more polite. Let’s get started.

A word that I hear English learners using a lot is SHOULD. I should study English more. You should come visit Brazil. You should, I should. And the word Should is great. It’s great word to know and in some cases, it’s perfectly fine to simply say Should. But I want to tell you that maybe it could be more polite in certain situations to say “should probably”. Should probably. Now, I want to give you several examples so that you can feel comfortable using “should probably” in your own conversations.

The first example is about studying English. I should probably study English more. I should probably study English more. If you said “I should study English more”, it’s very strong, it sounds like if I don’t study English more, I will die. I should study more. But should probably is little lighter. It means you know what, it will help my life if I study more. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t study English more. But I should probably do it. There’s a little bit of uncertainty because you used Probably. So, it’s a little more polite.

Another example is I should probably not have eaten five pieces of pizza. I should probably not have eaten five pieces of pizza. Maybe I have stomach now, maybe I don’t feel very well, I should probably not have eaten five pieces of pizza. It’s a little bit more polite then “I should not have eaten five pieces of pizza”. Probably makes a little bit more casual, a little bit more comfortable for conversation.

Another example is my friends should probably be coming over around now. My friends should probably be coming over around now. This means they are almost going to be here. They are almost at my house. I think they are probably come over around this time. Should probably.

So now I have a question for you, what should you probably be doing? What should you probably not be doing? Should probably. Write a sentence below this video in the comments with the expression Should Probably or Should Probably Not. And I’ll look at it and hope to give you some feedback. And maybe other English learners will give you some feedback as well. Thanks so much and I’ll talk to you later. Goodbye.