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When I listen to old Tom Lehrer recordings he says,

  • I should like to introduce...

and it sounds a bit strange. However, yesterday I was building a shed with my wife and I said, much to my surprise,

  • I should think you would have to attach this first.

I'm aware of the slight difference in meaning from "I would think..." but had no idea that I myself would actually naturally use it. Is this an atavism or do other young people actually still use it, say in the US? (Young e.g. 30s and younger).

Matt Samuel
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  • Duplicate of 'Nuances in variants of “I should/would/∅ think so”'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 14 '15 at 14:27
  • @Edwin my question is not about meaning, it's about usage. I don't see the link so I'm not sure if the question you linked is too. – Matt Samuel Dec 14 '15 at 14:29
  • I don't see how 'the way in which a word or phrase is normally and correctly used' [ODO] can be divorced from what it is intended to convey. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 14 '15 at 14:37
  • @Edwin I'm not sure if you read the last sentence. I know the meaning and correct usage, I don't need it explained. I want to know if it is still used in speech. – Matt Samuel Dec 14 '15 at 14:38
  • You seem to think that 'usage' means 'how frequently it is used'. I'd look up 'usage'. // Have you checked tchrist's answer? – Edwin Ashworth Dec 14 '15 at 14:51
  • @Edwin it does not address my question by any stretch of the imagination. – Matt Samuel Dec 14 '15 at 14:53
  • " The original conditional notion is obscured in the phrases it should seem ... [and] one should think (now somewhat arch. and perh. sometimes interpreted in the sense of 18). Similarly I should think (suppose, etc.) = ‘I am inclined to think (suppose, etc.)’ // I should/would like to ... has become even more bleached. 'Should' here is highfalutin and now rare, but 'would' is still fairly formal. 'I'd like to ...' is idiomatic. It's just a hedged paraphrase of 'I want to ...'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 14 '15 at 15:06
  • If you're asking primarily about frequency of usage, Google Ngrams are the first port of call. I can't think that there would be many false positives. 'I would like to' has been favoured since the late 1960s. But tchrist's quote labels 'should think' as 'somewhat archaic'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 14 '15 at 15:17
  • There are some cases where should is not only the more common option, but the only option. “I should think not!” means something entire different from “I would think not”, for example. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jul 11 '16 at 20:30

2 Answers2

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When conjugating the verb "to be" in the "proper" old-fashioned way, it was "I should" and "you, he, and she would."

The terms mean the same thing; the only difference is whether they're being used first person, or second or third person. "Should" for first person is now considered more formal, and alien to some ears, but for some of us it's just proper.

That's why Tom Lehrer and I say, "I should like to introduce . . ." rather than "I would like to introduce."

Oldilocks
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Yes, absolutely there is a difference and a useful one.

I would like to introduce is a suggestion of a request, asking permission to perform this action.

I should think you have to attach this first is again polite, but a stronger way of making the request. It's recommended for giving advice.

ann2
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    Hello, ann2. If you look at the duplicate, you will see that tchrist gives a fuller (but by no means full) explanation of the usages of 'should' and 'would'. He includes supporting evidence, which is expected on ELU. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 14 '15 at 14:33