The ould Family: could, would, should

Here is a family of heart words that share the same tricky part: 'could', 'would', and 'should'. In all three, the ould says /ood/, like in 'good'. The l is silent, and the ou does not say /ow/. Once you learn one, you know them all.

Just change the start: c for could, w for would, sh for should. Read: 'Could you help me? I would like that. We should go now. ' A memory trick for the spelling is 'oh you lucky duck': o, u, l, d.

• 1could, would, should all end in ould.
• 2The l is silent.
• 3ould sounds like /ood/ in 'good'.