The verb ought to it is a modal verb (modal verb) which means the words he must; should.
As with every modal verb, it works as an auxiliary verb that helps the main verb of the sentence.
Examples:
- He ought to arrive next week. (He should be arriving next week.)
- kids ought to respect their parents. (Children should respect their parents.)
In English, we can also use the modal verb (modal verb) should (he must; should) to express the same idea.
Examples:
- You should pay attention to the teacher. (You should pay attention to the teacher.)
- you should not drink and drive. (You must not drink and drive.)
- Should he be at the meeting as well? (Should he also be at the meeting?)
NOTE: a peculiarity of the ought to is that it is the only auxiliary verb that uses the to before the main auxiliary verb.
Difference between ought to, should and had better
ought to and should two modal verbs and for this reason, they have as auxiliary function the main verb of the sentence.
The difference between using the ought to and the use of should is that ought to indicates a more formal treatment.
With regard to meaning, we can say that the verb ought to and the verb should they are synonymous, that is, there is no difference in meaning between them.
Examples:
- You should wake up earlier. (You should wake up earlier.)
- You ought to wake up earlier. (You should wake up earlier.)
It is also important to note that ought to is a verb that is practically in disuse in the English language. Should has a preferred use.
The structure had better, in turn, is used to indicate that something is recommending, that is, we can translate had better like is better.
Examples:
- The director will be waiting for us. We had better arrive on time. (The director will be waiting for us. We better get there on time.)
- The teacher said the exam will be difficult. You had better study. (The teacher said that the test will be difficult. You better study.)
when to use ought to?
the modal verb should is used to express advice, suggestion, expectation, probability and to owe.
Examples:
- She ought not to go there by herself. (She shouldn't go there alone.) – ADVICE
- You ought to arrive early at the meeting. (You must arrive early for the meeting.) – SUGGESTION
- He ought to get to the office in a few minutes. (He should arrive at the office in a few minutes.) – EXPECTATION
- I ought to finish it in an hour. (I should finish this in an hour.) - PROBABILITY
- We ought to stop at the red light. (We must stop at the red light.) – DUTY
Note that the use of the modal verb ought to it has a direct impact on the meaning of the main verbs. In the first sentence, for example, without the use of ought to the main verb (go) just means “go” and not “should go”.
Also read about other modal verbs:
- must
- could
How to use ought to?
The verb ought to, like every modal verb, is always accompanied by a main verb.
Examples:
- He ought to be more careful. (He should be more careful.)
- She ought to be patient with the kids. (He should be patient with children.)
In the sentence above, the main verb in the infinitive is to be, however, we removed the I'm in to be and we only use well because we already have one I'm in the structure ought to.
ought to can be used in sentences affirmatives, negative and interrogatives.
Look at the table below and learn how to use the verb ought to in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms. The main verb used as an example is the verb I work (work).
| AFFIRMATIVE | NEGATIVE | INTERROGATIVE |
|---|---|---|
| I needed to work you ought to work He/she/it ought to work we ought to work you ought to work they need to work |
I ought not to/ought not to work You ought not to/ought not to work He/she/it ought not to/ought not to work We ought not to/ought not to work You ought not to/ought not to work They ought not to/ought not to work |
I need to work? Need you to work? Ought he/she/it to work? Need we to work? Need you to work? ought they to work? |
IMPORTANT
- If so, we use the ought to for all people, including he/she/it. the rule of Simple Present which requires the addition of the -s for the third person push-ups it is not applied here.
- To form sentences in negative form, we can use ought not to or the contracted form oughtn’t. The meaning of both forms is the same.
- When making sentences with ought to in the interrogative form, just change the position of this modal verb in the sentence: unlike what happens in the affirmative, in the interrogative the verb ought to must be positioned before the subject. In this case, we must follow the following structure: ought + subject + I'm + main verb.
Exercises
do exercises with ought to to test your knowledge.
1. You __________________ during the movie.
a) ought to talk
b) oughtn’t to talk
c) ought to watch
d) ought to see
Correct alternative: b) oughtn’t to talk
2. She she _______________ the project in five minutes or we'll be in trouble.
a) ought to arrive
b) oughtn’t to arrive
c) ought to finish
d) oughtn’t to finish
Correct alternative: c) ought to finish
3. It’s too cold. You __________________ the jacket.
a) ought not to wear
b) oughtn’t to wear
c) ought to wear
d) it should have worn
Correct alternative: c) ought to wear
3. She is always tired in the afternoon. She she _______________ so early.
a) should get up
b) should not stay up
c) ought not to get up
d) she should not stay up
Correct alternative: c) ought not to get up
4. If you want to improve your English, you ___________.
a) should practice it.
b) oughtn’t to practice it.
c) should not practice it.
d) ought to practice it.
Correct alternative: d) ought to practice it.
Learn more about English verbs:
- verb to have
- Verb to be
- Phrasal verbs
- English auxiliary verbs
- Regular and Irregular English Verbs
- How to use the modal might?
