Is the usage of "should" correct in this sentence on the BBC web site? [duplicat...
Is the usage of "should" correct in this sentence on the BBC web site? [duplicate]
"God forbid we should end up like Ukraine." BBC - Belarus elections
The use of "should" caught my attention, because it didn't seem right to me, but because it is on a BBC web site, I got confused. As the speaker is worried that they might end up in a bad situation, I thought he have should have said something like: "God forbid, we may/might/could end up ...."
So, my question is: The "should" was used because the speaker is not a native speaker, which is why the sentence is shown in quotation marks, OR could it ever be a correct usage?
Top Answer/Comment:
The speaker's words are quoted by Steve Rosenberg, translated by either him or an interpreter. There is nothing odd about the usage.
One of Oxford Languages' definitions of should is (in the first person) indicating the consequence of an imagined event.
She is wishing God to forbid the imagined situation that Belarus ends up like Ukraine. It might be clearer to a non-native speaker if it was expressed as "God forbid that we should..."
