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I found this message at a game.

Players should know that Klei is not able to help you should issues arise while using mods.

What is this you should ?

I can understand it with replacing should to when.

Mari-Lou A
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user160368
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2 Answers2

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Players should know that Klei is not able to help you should issues arise while using mods.

This is a special kind of conditional sentence. Instead of using a word like if to mark the conditional antecedent, it uses something called subject-auxiliary inversion. Here is the same sentence using the word if instead of subject-auxiliary inversion:

Players should know that Klei isn't able to help you [ if issues should arise while using mods ].

When we use the modal verb should in conditional antecedents, it is understood as indicating that this situation is not very likely. Notice that the Subject of this clause is issues. In my example the Subject issues occurs before the auxiliary verb should as it would in a normal sentence:

  • if issues should arise while using mods.

Now, if we want, we can drop the word if here. But when we do this, we need to change the positions (invert) the subject and the auxiliary verb:

  • should issues arise while using mods.

This is what we see in the Original Poster's example:

Players should know that Klei is not able to help you should issues arise while using mods.

A comma could be used before the word should here. However, the standard convention is that we only need to use a comma when the conditional antecedent (if-clause) occurs at the beginning of the clause:

  • Players should know that should issues arise while using mods, Klei is not able to help you.
Araucaria - Him
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A comma is not necessary in the sentence, but because it might help you to understand more clearly, let's look at the sentence with a comma inserted:

"Players should know that Klei is not able to help you, should issues arise while using mods."

With the comma included, it's more clear that 'should' means 'if,' 'in the event that,' or 'in case.'

M. E.
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  • This is not a question about the comma. Did you read the guidelines of this community? –  Feb 14 '16 at 12:05
  • The sentence would best be written like this. Look at my comment above. –  Feb 14 '16 at 12:08
  • What is there that can possibly confuse me? Your answer is wrong. –  Feb 14 '16 at 12:09
  • Do you mean should can be replaced with if, in the event of or in case in the sentence? –  Feb 14 '16 at 12:15
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    Yep. Always have meant that. Glad you finally get it. It's pretty apparent to me that for @user160368, English is a second language. He thought "you should" or "help you should" was a phrase of some kind. The comma was meant to help him see that "should" here is not part of a phrase. – M. E. Feb 14 '16 at 12:25