Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
\"Shall\" vs. \"should\" vs. \"must\"
Spanish translation:
\"verbo en futuro\" vs. \"deberá\" vs. \"debe\"
Added to glossary by
Paola Turakiewich Fantina
Apr 27, 2011 19:23
14 yrs ago
66 viewers *
English term
"Shall" vs. "should" vs. "must"
English to Spanish
Other
Law (general)
Terminology
Hi dear all,
I am translating some texts on differents standards. I come across different sentences such as:
Description *SHOULD* be in a clear, concise, logical, readable format.
All regulatory requirements *MUST* be met in full.
the work*SHALL* be contracted out to competent environmental consultants.
The problem is with these modal verbs. In everyday English, we use SHOULD as s"OUGHT TO" (a piece of advice..you should do this, but you don't have to).
SHALL is mandatory and MUST too.
From my experience translating technical texts with legal connotation (I mean standards, for instance):
SHALL is deberá (indicates obligation)
MUST is not so frequently used (due to the fact that is not so formal as SHALL) but it also means "deberá"
and
SHOULD (although its common meaning is "debería") is "deberá" as well as SHALL. We can't give room for someone to do o not to do something from a Standard. In those cases, CAN or MAY is used to express the possibility that you can do it or not and there's no obligation.
For instance, in the case:
Description *SHOULD* be in a clear, concise, logical, readable format.
the translation is:
*Se deberá presentar* una descripción clara, lógica...
Because we can't say: " se debería" and let the person reading this Standard not do what he HAS to do.
Am I right? I need some explanations, please :)
Thanks!
I am translating some texts on differents standards. I come across different sentences such as:
Description *SHOULD* be in a clear, concise, logical, readable format.
All regulatory requirements *MUST* be met in full.
the work*SHALL* be contracted out to competent environmental consultants.
The problem is with these modal verbs. In everyday English, we use SHOULD as s"OUGHT TO" (a piece of advice..you should do this, but you don't have to).
SHALL is mandatory and MUST too.
From my experience translating technical texts with legal connotation (I mean standards, for instance):
SHALL is deberá (indicates obligation)
MUST is not so frequently used (due to the fact that is not so formal as SHALL) but it also means "deberá"
and
SHOULD (although its common meaning is "debería") is "deberá" as well as SHALL. We can't give room for someone to do o not to do something from a Standard. In those cases, CAN or MAY is used to express the possibility that you can do it or not and there's no obligation.
For instance, in the case:
Description *SHOULD* be in a clear, concise, logical, readable format.
the translation is:
*Se deberá presentar* una descripción clara, lógica...
Because we can't say: " se debería" and let the person reading this Standard not do what he HAS to do.
Am I right? I need some explanations, please :)
Thanks!
Proposed translations
(Spanish)
4 +1 | "verbo en futuro" vs. "deberá" vs. "debe" |
Toni Romero
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4 +2 | se deberá presentar |
Ximena Diaz (X)
![]() |
5 | debera deberadebe or debera |
Patricia Weist
![]() |
5 -1 | "deberá" vs. "debería" vs. "debe" |
Ricardo Galarza
![]() |
Proposed translations
+1
10 hrs
Selected
"verbo en futuro" vs. "deberá" vs. "debe"
En este contexto
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you! Shall is always a verb in the future... :) Shold is deberá/debe, and must not so frequently used, but is "debe" too."
-1
8 mins
"deberá" vs. "debería" vs. "debe"
HTH.
Note from asker:
Have you read that I am talking about a particular context? That's legal :) |
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
FVS (X)
: This is far too simplistic I'm afraid and does not accord with legal usage in any manner.
40 mins
|
Thank you for pointing that out. See my discussion entry.
|
+2
8 mins
English term (edited):
\"shall\" vs. \"should\" vs. \"must\"
se deberá presentar
I agree, in this case there should not be room for the possibility of not complying with the requirements.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Carl Stoll
1 hr
|
Gracias Carl :)
|
|
agree |
Maite Olmos
: Estoy de acuerdo. Creo que es la opción más natural y apropiada
20 hrs
|
Gracias Maite :)
|
7 hrs
English term (edited):
\"shall\" vs. \"should\" vs. \"must\"
debera deberadebe or debera
Paola,
I think you have got it exactly right as you explained it.
must = debe (or could be debera)
should = debera in legalese (deberia (ought to) in everyday speech)
shall = debera or just the verb itself in future tense. (The defence attorney shall file a motion... = el abogado defensor presentara una peticion.) The sense here is that the person is to do it. ie obligation. (Shall in everyday speech means will (future tense, not obligation) but is hardly ever used that way, at least in the US)
I hope that is helpful,
Good luck!
I think you have got it exactly right as you explained it.
must = debe (or could be debera)
should = debera in legalese (deberia (ought to) in everyday speech)
shall = debera or just the verb itself in future tense. (The defence attorney shall file a motion... = el abogado defensor presentara una peticion.) The sense here is that the person is to do it. ie obligation. (Shall in everyday speech means will (future tense, not obligation) but is hardly ever used that way, at least in the US)
I hope that is helpful,
Good luck!
Discussion
Regards ;)
se tiene que cumplir con los requisitos...
MUST: present tense, todos los requisitos se deben...
SHOULD: se deberá
Hope this helps some...