Glossary entry

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!

Discussion

Carl Stoll Apr 28, 2011:
"Shall" puede ser futuro, y puede ser imperativo. Con la primera persona, "shall" es futuro. Con la 2a y 3a personas, "shall" es imperativo."
Paul García Apr 28, 2011:
in agreement with FVS I'm in agreement with FVS; there are so many variables that this is more than a dozen discussion entries can resolve.
FVS (X) Apr 28, 2011:
Consider this: I shall go to the Royal Wedding tomorrow. You shall too. Is either imperative??
Jorge Merino Apr 27, 2011:
Me parece que la duda central de Paola es el uso de SHOULD como imperativo, el resto no esta en discusión...
Karolina Blachucka Apr 27, 2011:
Toni estoy de acuerdo contigo:) lo has explicado muy bien, "shall" en el lenguaje jurídico funciona como "will" es decir futuro.. Por favor olvidarse de que que shall expresa obligación!!! Shall y should son dos cosas aparte:) saludos
Carl Stoll Apr 27, 2011:
TODOS SON IMPERATIVOS Las diferencias de matiz que pueda haber entre "shall", "must" y "should" no cuentan. Todos se traducen igual. Pero aparte de utilizar verbos españoles, tenemos la opción de sustantivos y adjetivos: "es obligatorio"!, ""imperativo", necesario", imprescindible", y sustantivos: "obligación", "deber", "norma", "precepto", etc.
Toni Romero Apr 27, 2011:
Lorena lo ha explicado muy claramente... ...como debe ser, en este caso: must es debe o tiene que, should normalmente es debería pero en el ejemplo que nos ocupa es deberá y shall es futuro, equivalente al will (contratará, o subcontratará, o lo que sea). Así de sencillo. Olvidaos de shall como deberá, porque no es así. We shall overcome, dice la canción... :-)
Jorge Merino Apr 27, 2011:
Complementando la opinión de Lorena, Ricardo y FVS, estoy de acuerdo con SHALL y MUST, la exigencia es muy precisa, como lo es cumplir con un requisito o especificación que esté claramente descrito/a. En el caso de SHOULD, el ejemplo que pones da pie para interpretación, "clear, concise, logical, readable format" no son, a mi juicio, términos inequívocos y su aplicabilidad es muy subjetiva. A menos que existan en el documento definiciones precisas de estos términos, el autor no puede en este caso imponer una obligación utilizando SHALL o MUST. Saludos,
FVS (X) Apr 27, 2011:
This is all quite complicated and very context sensitive. For example, 'shall' is normally rendered in legal Spanish by the simple future tense. To answer this question properly would require a few pages. I suggest you post a couple of examples and we can translate them for you.
Ricardo Galarza Apr 27, 2011:
Sorry, Paola, I didn't get to read that you needed an explanation. I reckon the question should have been posted in a different way though. But be that as it may, I agree, you shouldn't translate that "should" as "debería." You can use, as you say, "deberá" or "debe:" "La descripción debe ser presentada en forma clara, concisa, lógica y legible".
Regards ;)
lorenab23 Apr 27, 2011:
Also for MUST, as you said is not as formal, you can always use: tener que
se tiene que cumplir con los requisitos...
lorenab23 Apr 27, 2011:
Here is how I see it Using Shall does not require the use of "deber" you just conjugate the verb itself: el trabajo se contratará...
MUST: present tense, todos los requisitos se deben...
SHOULD: se deberá
Hope this helps some...

Proposed translations

+1
10 hrs
Selected

"verbo en futuro" vs. "deberá" vs. "debe"

En este contexto
Peer comment(s):

agree Diana Pompa Morris
3501 days
Something went wrong...
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.
Something went wrong...
+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 :)
Something went wrong...
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!
Something went wrong...
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