TinyProf's Grammar Guide 🎓

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1. What We're Solving

We need to figure out what the modal verb 'should' means in this specific clause:

> "...hardly a man Paris to cause that so many very brave men should enter battle"

This requires careful analysis because 'should' has several different meanings in English, and identifying the correct one depends on context.

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2. The Approach

Modal verbs are chameleons 🦎 — they change meaning depending on context. To find the right meaning, we need to:

• Look at the grammatical structure surrounding it
• Consider the historical context (Renaissance English)
• Determine: what relationship is being expressed between ideas?

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3. Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Identify the Full Grammatical Structure

Break the clause into its parts:

| Element | Text | |---|---| | Main clause | "hardly a man Paris to cause" | | Subordinating connector | "that" | | Subordinate clause | "so many very brave men should enter battle" |

Notice that 'should' sits inside a 'that' clause following a verb of causing. This is your biggest clue! 🔍

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Step 2: List the Possible Meanings of 'Should'

'Should' can mean several things:

• Obligation: "You should eat your vegetables" (moral duty)
• Expectation/Probability: "She should be home by now" (likely)
• Conditional: "Should you need help, call me" (if)
• Subjunctive/Purpose: expressing a result or outcome that is envisioned or intended

In this context, does obligation make sense? Is Paris morally obligating the brave men? The structure suggests otherwise.

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Step 3: Notice the Renaissance English Grammar Pattern

In older and formal English, the structure:

> [verb of causing/wishing/intending] + that + subject + should + verb

expresses a result or purpose — something that comes about or is brought about as a consequence.

Consider similar patterns:

• "He arranged things that they should meet" = so that they would meet
• "It was decreed that all men should pay taxes" = that all men were to pay

This is called the putative 'should' or mandative subjunctive expressed with 'should' — it expresses what is envisioned as happening as a result or outcome.

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Step 4: Apply This to Your Sentence

> "hardly a man Paris to cause that so many very brave men should enter battle"

Rephrase it in modern English:

> "Paris was hardly the kind of man to cause so many brave men to enter battle"

or:

> "...to bring it about that so many brave men would/were to enter battle"

Here 'should' expresses a consequence or outcome — the entering of battle is the result that Paris is (or isn't) capable of bringing about. ✅

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Step 5: Confirm With Context

In the Renaissance educational setting, students engaged in formal argumentation using classical rhetoric. This kind of formal, purposive 'should' construction was standard in:

• Legal writing
• Classical translations
• Formal argumentation

This confirms we're looking at a formal, purposive/resultative 'should' — not obligation, not probability.

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4. The Answer

In this clause, 'should' functions as a modal verb expressing a hypothetical result or consequence — sometimes called the putative 'should'.

It means something close to "would" or "were to" in modern English:

> ...that so many very brave men were to / would enter battle

It does NOT express:

• ❌ Moral obligation ("they ought to fight")
• ❌ Probability ("they are likely fighting")

It DOES express:

• ✅ A brought-about outcome or intended result following the verb "to cause"
• ✅ A formal, subjunctive-flavored construction typical of Renaissance and early modern English

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5. Memory Tip 🧠

"CAUSE + THAT + SHOULD = Consequence!"

Whenever you see: > a verb of causing, wishing, or intending → "that" → "should"

Think of 'should' as pointing to an envisioned outcome — what would result or come to pass. It's the grammar of consequences and purposes, not rules and obligations!