Author Topic: I should consider it a great honour... (Read 3102 times)

Annie Subjunctive · « **on:** August 07, 2005, 10:48:28 PM »

...if someone could tell me why that is constructed that way. What tense is "should consider?" Why would you say that if you already consider it?

Porter · « **Reply #1 on:** August 07, 2005, 10:50:43 PM »

That sounds odd to me -- as though you meant to say "I would comsider it a great honour" but said it wrong.

Saying it like that makes me think "I should consider it a great honor, but I don't. Fooey on you.

"

kojabu · « **Reply #2 on:** August 07, 2005, 10:52:19 PM »

Yea that sounds odd to me too. I don't think I've ever heard that construct before.

Porter · « **Reply #3 on:** August 07, 2005, 10:58:16 PM »

I hear that construct all the time, but it always sounds wrong unless I mentally assume that they meant "would".

kojabu · « **Reply #4 on:** August 07, 2005, 11:04:36 PM »

I've heard it in the form of "You should consider doing x" or "I should consider doing x" but not with anything following it other than that.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2005, 11:17:09 PM »

I've heard it quite often, but that's because I've watched A&E's Pride and Prejudice about 30,000 times.

It's either archaic or British.

edit: I have just edited the spelling in the thread title to reflect that distinction.

kojabu · « **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2005, 11:21:15 PM »

Do you have any other examples of how it's been used in similar ways to that?

rivka · « **Reply #7 on:** August 08, 2005, 03:27:40 AM »

Quote

It's either archaic or British.

Bingo! (Or, you know, both . . .

)

Porter · « **Reply #8 on:** August 08, 2005, 07:54:58 AM »

I don't know why, but that spelling has been creeping into my written language more and more (honour, colour, armour, etc.).

Jonathon · « **Reply #9 on:** August 08, 2005, 08:06:58 AM »

Quote

...if someone could tell me why that is constructed that way. What tense is "should consider?" Why would you say that if you already consider it?

It's the past tense indicative mood. Should has many different uses, and one of them is to soften direct statements.

AFR · « **Reply #10 on:** August 08, 2005, 09:04:40 AM »

The "should" seems to just a hint of conditionality and also a hint of subtly aggressive advancement of the speaker's opinion. I think it's a great use of the English language.

beverly · « **Reply #11 on:** August 08, 2005, 08:57:02 PM »

It allows people to be indirect and distant in an ultra-polite sort of way.

Reminds me of some of the sentance constructs used in various Asian languages to denote great respect. Nothing specific comes to mind, and I don't know for a fact that they do this, but it seems like I have heard a lot of that sort of showing-respect-by-being-amazingly-indirect-and-distant sort of thing.

beverly · « **Reply #12 on:** August 08, 2005, 08:57:44 PM »

Quote

I should think it's a great use of the English language.

There, fixed that for ya.