How to use 'should someone call...'?

[Maggie]

Hi everyone,

I have a question.

1. _____he call please have him leave a message, and tell him I'll get back
to him as soon as possible.
(A)If
(B)Were
(C)Should
(D)When

The answer is (C).

I just want to know why the answer is (C) (It would be much better if you can show me the link of explaination 0r how to find out this kind of question. Then I can try to find the answer next time if I have a similar question.) and if you use this kind of sentence in your life. I've searched it on the google, but I didn't find it out that people used it on the network. So I would like to know if it's a normal sentence that native speakers say or it's just a question of English examination.

Thanks in advance.
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[Kitosdad]

Maggie the only possibly answer is "should." Other variations would need a slight change to the sentence.

If he calls

Were he to call.

Should he call. (correct.)

When he calls.
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[Expatcat]

Maggie,

The clue to making the right choice in the sentence you gave are the two words "he call". Normally when you see a singular subject (he) you will see a singular verb (calls).

But your sentence has a singular subject (he) together with the base form of the verb, to call (call). That is a signal that what is missing is a modal verb. Modal verbs are followed by the base form of the main verb.

So you needed to look through your options (if, were, should, when) and find the only modal verb. "Should" is the only modal verb in the choices you were given.

There are only a few modal verbs, I think somewhere around ten.

I will try to find you a link later.

[Alan]

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Hi Maggie,

'Should' is one of those troublesome words that pops up all over the place with different meanings. It has a strong sense of duty or rightness as in: You should look after yourself. It can be used as a mandative subjunctive where an instruction is given as in: The doctor said I should go for walks regularly and it was (but not so frequently now) used with conditionals but in that sense it sounds a bit lofty as you can see in this famous line by the poet, Rupert Brooke (1887-1915): If I should die, think only this of me ...More common is the sentence you refer to: Should he call, please have him leave a message. This is another way of expressing a condition with the inverted 'should he', which is not lofty or unusual and is simply another way of saying: If he calls, have him leave a message.

Alan
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[Maggie]

Thanks a lot for giving me so many detailed explanations for this term 'should'.
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In my view,the more mistakes someone else corrects me,the more I could learn.
And welcome to my blog: http://0rz.tw/793HL