Introduction
"It's strange that he should say that." Nobody is advising him to say it, and nobody is suggesting he do it in the future — the sentence is reacting, with a mix of surprise and mild disbelief, to something he already said or does. This is a genuinely separate job for "should": not advice, not obligation, not even the formal subjunctive "should" you may have met after suggest or recommend. This one exists purely to color a fact with emotion — surprise, irony, indignation, or a sense that something doesn't quite add up.
It's easy to walk past this "should" without noticing it's even there, because the sentence often reads fine without it too ("It's strange that he says that"). But swapping it in changes the tone noticeably: the version with "should" sounds more personally astonished, almost as if the speaker still can't quite believe it.
The Core Forms
Pattern 1 — It is/was + adjective + (that) + subject + should + verb
It's surprising she should be so calm about the whole thing.
It's only natural that you should feel nervous before the exam.
It's a pity you should have to leave so early.
The "that" is frequently dropped, especially in speech, without any change in meaning:
Pattern 2 — With the perfect form, reacting to something already done
I find it odd that she should have said nothing about it until now.
Pattern 3 — Rhetorical "Why should...?"
Why should she have to explain herself to anyone?
The Real Rule: Why This Doesn't Generalize
This "should" doesn't mean obligation or advice at all — dropping it changes the tone, not the underlying fact being described. "It's strange that he says that" and "It's strange that he should say that" describe the exact same fact; only the second one carries that extra note of personal astonishment.
It's triggered by a specific set of adjectives expressing surprise, oddness, or fittingness — not by adjectives of necessity or importance. Adjectives like essential, important, necessary, or vital call for the mandative subjunctive instead (a completely different "should," covered on the C1 Subjunctive Mood page): "It's essential that he be there" is a requirement, not a reaction of surprise, and it never carries this emotional flavor.
The clause after "should" isn't naming something the speaker wants to happen — it's usually naming something that's already true, or already happening. This is why the perfect form (should have + past participle) appears so naturally here: the emotional reaction is very often aimed at something already done, not something being requested for the future.
"Why should...?" in its rhetorical, indignant use isn't a real information question at all — nobody expects an actual answer explaining a reason. It functions almost like a flat refusal or protest dressed up as a question.
Common Errors
Error 1 — Confusing this with the mandative subjunctive.
✓ It's essential that he be there.
Error 2 — Treating "why should" as a genuine information question when indignation was intended.
Error 3 — Dropping "should" and losing the intended tone.
Error 4 — Using the base form where the reaction is clearly about something already finished.
✓ It's a shame he should have missed the ceremony.
Error 5 — Applying it to a completely neutral adjective with no surprise/judgment sense.
Register and Usage
This "should" is common in both spoken and written British English especially, and appears comfortably across registers — from a surprised remark in ordinary conversation ("It's funny you should say that, I was just thinking the same thing") to more formal written commentary expressing measured astonishment or disapproval ("It is regrettable that the committee should have reached such a decision without wider consultation"). American English tends to use it a little less overall, often simply dropping it in favor of the plain indicative form, but it isn't wrong or unusual there either.
Don't Confuse This With: Advice "Should" and Mandative "Should"
English asks the single word "should" to do at least three separate jobs, and this page covers only the least obvious of them.
Advice/obligation "should": "You should see a doctor about that cough." Straightforward recommendation, no surprise or emotion built in.
Mandative "should" (C1 Subjunctive Mood page): appears after suggest/recommend/insist/demand or adjectives like essential/important + that, expressing what someone wants to happen: "I recommend that she should apply for the position." This is about a desired future action, and — especially in British English — it's a milder, less bare-bones alternative to the subjunctive base form ("I recommend that she apply").
Emotional "should" (this page): appears after adjectives of surprise, oddness, or judgment, reacting to a fact that's often already true: "It's strange that she should apply for that position, given how much she disliked the last one." Same word, three different jobs — the trigger adjective and the surrounding context are what tell them apart.
Exercises
Exercise 1 — Transformation
Rewrite each sentence using emotional "should," keeping the surprised or judgmental tone indicated.
Exercise 2 — Error Correction
Each sentence contains one mistake. Find it and type the sentence correctly.
Exercise 3 — Multiple Choice
1. Choose the sentence that correctly expresses surprise about something that already happened.
2. Choose the sentence that correctly uses the rhetorical, indignant "why should."
3. Choose the sentence that correctly distinguishes emotional "should" from the mandative subjunctive.
4. Choose the correctly formed sentence.
5. Choose the sentence that is NOT a valid trigger for emotional "should," because the adjective doesn't express surprise, oddness, or judgment.
6. Choose the correctly formed sentence.
Exercise 4 — Key Word Transformation
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using the key word given. The key word must not be changed in any way. Use between three and eight words, including the key word.