LoginOught to and Had Better
This article dives into "ought to" and "had better" for giving strong advice or recommendations. Detailed explanations and a quiz to test your knowledge.
Ought and Had Better
'Ought' and 'had better' are both semi-modal verbs in English that are used to express obligation or give advice. Both 'ought' and 'had better' are similar in meaning to 'should', but the context of their use is slightly different.
Ought
'Ought' is considered a semi-modal verb because, although it shares some characteristics with modal verbs, it does not meet all the criteria for being considered a modal.
Like modal verbs, it has the same form for all persons and cannot be conjugated for tense; however, unlike modal verb, it is followed by a to-infinitive. 'Ought' is commonly used to:
Expressing Obligation and Necessity
'Ought' can be used to express a moral, ethical, or social obligation or duty. For example:
You ought to help your neighbor in need.
You ought to pay your bills on time.
Should or Ought?
To indicate that something is the best thing or right thing to do, you can use both 'should' and 'ought'. The difference is that 'should' is more common in spoken English.
Expressing Obligation and Necessity in the Past
You can talk about obligations in the past by using 'ought' + 'to have' + 'past participle'.
You ought to have been more careful.
You ought to have listened to your teacher.
Expressing Expectations
'Ought' can be used to express expectations or predict what is likely to happen in the future. For example:
Babies ought to be able to talk by the age of 1.
In this sentence, babies are expected to talk by the age of 1.
Teachers ought to earn more.
In this sentence the speaker would like teachers to earn more.
Giving Advice or Recommendation
'Ought' can be used to give advice or make suggestions. For example:
You ought to watch this movie. It's great.
In this case, the speaker is giving recommendation.
The restaurant has the best food in town. You ought to try it.
Expressing Probability
'Ought' can also be used to make a deduction or draw a conclusion about the probability of something based on available evidence.
If she left at 11 o'clock, she ought to be here by now.
That ought to be enough food for the four of us.
Forming Questions
When forming a question or negating a sentence, it is more common to use 'should' instead of 'ought'. However, if you want to use 'ought to' in questions and negative sentences, you can use it with the base form of the verb.
Should I buy this shirt?
Remember, it is not common to say; ''ought I to buy this shirt?''
She ought not (to) be driving so fast.
Ought I (to) apologize to her?
In questions and negations, you can use 'ought' without 'to.'
Had Better
'Had better' is a semi-modal verb phrase that is used to give advice or a warning about a potential outcome or consequence. It is often used to suggest that someone should take a particular action in order to avoid a negative consequence or to achieve a desired outcome. Despite its form, "had better" actually refers to the present, not the past.
You'd better hurry or you'll be late.
You'd better not do that again.
As you can see, 'had better' can be used to form negative statements by adding 'not' after it.
'Had better' is similar in meaning to 'should' but it generally implies a stronger sense of urgency or importance. Also, it is important to note that 'had better' is often used in informal or spoken language. It is commonly used to:
Give advice
Express urgency
Make a suggestion
Giving Commands
Giving Advice
'Had better' is often used to give advice or make suggestions about what someone should do in order to avoid negative consequences or achieve a desired outcome. For example:
You had better study hard if you want to pass the test.
He had better apologize before things get worse.
Expressing Urgency
'Had better' can be used to express a sense of urgency or importance in a particular situation. For example:
We had better leave now if we want to catch the last train.
Making a Suggestion
'Had better' can be used to make a suggestion or recommendation about what someone should do in a particular situation. For example:
You had better take an umbrella with you. It's going to rain later.
Giving Commands
'Had better' is used to give a command or directive to the listener. The use of 'had better' implies that there may be negative consequences if the listener fails to follow the command.
It's important to note that commands with 'had better' are often used in informal or spoken language, and they can come across as forceful or confrontational if used inappropriately. Pay attention to the example:
You had better finish your homework before you go out with your friends.
You had better tell the truth.
Forming Questions with 'Had Better'
To form a question with 'had better', you simply invert the subject and the auxiliary verb "had". However, questions with 'had better' are not very common in English, and 'should' is normally used in such situations.
Hadn't he better be on time for the meeting?
Here, 'hadn't' is the contracted form of 'had not'.
Had I better bring my passport to the meeting?
Review
Both 'ought' and 'had better' are semi-modals, which means they share some but not all features of modal verbs. The tables below summarize the function fulfilled by each semi-modal:
ought | |
|---|---|
obligation and necessity | You ought to wash your face when you get up. |
expectation | You ought to be tired after all that swimming |
giving advice or recommendation | We ought to try Chinese food. |
probability | My mother ought to be at work. |
had better | |
|---|---|
giving advice | You'd better stay away from the dog, it seems angry. |
expressing urgency | You had better call the doctor. |
making a suggestion | She had better call her parents before they get worried. |
giving commands | You had better not forget the tickets this time. |
Quiz:
Which form is grammatically correct when expressing a past obligation using "ought"?
You ought to be more careful.
You ought to had been more careful.
You ought have been more careful.
You ought to have been more careful.
Sort the words to form a correct sentence.
Match each sentence to the correct function of the semi-modal verb.
Complete each sentence with the appropriate semi-modal.
You
(to) study hard if you want to pass the test.
He
(to) have been more careful when driving.
You
(to) take an umbrella with you; it's going to rain soon.
I
(to) call my parents; they are probably worried.
If she left at 9 a.m., she
(to) be here by now.
What is the key difference between "ought" and "had better"?
"Ought" is always about past actions, while "had better" is for future.
"Had better" is stronger and often implies a warning.
"Ought" doesn't use "to" before verbs.
"Had better" is formal, while "ought" is casual.
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