Sign inShould vs. Ought To
'Ought to' is considered as an alternative for the verb 'Should.' They can talk about assumptions and advice. In this lesson, we will learn more about them.
What Is Their Main Difference?
The main difference between 'should' and 'ought to' is that 'should' is a modal verb and 'ought to' is a semi-modal verb.
Modal Verb Should
'Should' is a modal verb. Modal verbs are used to give additional information about the main verb. 'Should' is used to talk about assumptions and to give advice. It is the past tense of modal verb 'shall.' For example:
He
Our team
Semi-modal Verb Ought to
'Ought to' is a semi-modal verb. Semi-modal verbs sometimes act like modal verbs and sometimes act like the main verb. For example:
You
Everyone
Similarities
Talking about Assumptions
We use 'should' and 'ought to' to talk about assumptions. The word assumption is derived from 'assume.' Assumptions are statements without any firm proof. For example:
She
She
Talking about Duty
We can use 'should' and 'ought to' to talk about obligations. In other words, we are talking about actions and events that their fulfillment is a duty. 'Ought to' gives a stronger sense of duty than 'should.' Take a look at these examples:
You
You
Giving and Asking for Advice
- 'Should' is used to give or ask for advice:
What
You
- 'Ought to' is used to give advice:
You
You
Talking about Expectations
We use 'should' and 'ought to' to talk about things that we expect to happen. For instance:
It
It
Negation and Question
We can create negative and interrogative forms with 'should' and 'ought to.'
To create negative sentences, we simply add 'not' to our structure as illustrated below:
- Should + not = Should not → Shouldn't
- Ought + not + to = Ought not to → Oughtn't to
Note that the negative form of 'ought to' is correct but it is extremely uncommon. You may encounter articles that consider it as incorrect.
Here are some examples:
You
We
To create questions with 'should,' we simply invert it. Watch:
I
We
To make questions with 'ought to,' we follow the pattern shown below:
- Ought + subject + to + infinitive + …?
Here are some examples for clarification:
With Conditionals
We use 'should' and 'ought to' with the second type of conditionals that talks about hypothetical situations. These situations are imaginary with a low chance of occurrence. For example:
If you are sick, you
If you are sick, you
Differences
Popularity
'Should' is commonly used in all types of texts while 'ought to' is extremely uncommon. 'Should' usually replaces 'ought to.'
Formality
'Should' is less formal than 'ought to.' 'Ought to' is used in formal texts while 'should' can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
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