Why should I use ought to? - English Language Usage Stack Exchange In some areas, for instance, ought to occurs more frequently than in others [emphasis mine - Alex B ]" (p 233) However, we can observe general, supra-dialectal trends: ought is more common in speech than in writing - 56% (spoken), 44% (written) in Cappelle and Desutter 2010 Collins 2009 reports the speech-writing ratios 3:1 for BrE and 4:1
How is ought used in this King James Bible verse? There's a use of the word "ought" from the Bible I don't understand I've highlighted the relevant word: Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common King James Version
Indispensability of to after ought in British English Ought not be is used, in both speech and writing, in American English To many AmE speakers (such as tchrist) ought not to be is even ungrammatical: the negation mandatorily cancels out the infinitive marker just as it does with need (it doesn't need to be, but it need not be; there is no *it need not to be) Plus, even if it were just erratic
modal verbs - Is it appropriate to omit to after ought? - English . . . It sounds better because ought is a semantic modal auxiliary and omission of the to (i e, treating the infinitive complement as a modal would and omitting to) is a negative polarity phenomenon, like the use of need and dare as modals: - *I need go ~ I need not go (modal) - I need to go ~ I don't need to go
What is the meaning of ought not? - English Language Usage Stack . . . This alternation of ought not go vs ought not to go resembles the behavior of need and dare, which are also Negative Polarity Items as modals, though with a different syntax Outside negative polarity environments, though, the to in ought to seems likely to remain for a while
meaning - Difference between should and ought to - English Language . . . Interrogatives and negatives with ought are rare; should is generally preferred instead Elsewhere in the book they say: Should is used to hedge conclusions and predictions, but it expresses confidence in the probability that a situation will occur in a particular way They don't say whether or not ought to can be used in this way The
Dialect differences between should, ought, and ought to If you travel by way of your profession, that too will have an effect on how you are addressed The other thing is that you do not give any contextual examples "You should not drive so fast" "You ought not to drive so fast", are clearly different "I should say that she is about 30" differs hugely from "I ought to say that she is about 30 "
How did ought lose its original usage as the past tense of owe? Ought is the stronger, expressing especially obligations of duty, with some weaker use in expressing interest or necessity: as, you ought to know, if any one does Should sometimes expresses duty: as, we should be careful of others' feelings; but generally expresses propriety, expediency, etc : as, we should dot our i's and cross our t's
Difference between should, would and ought to [closed] Ought to be, would and had better cannot be qualified by it is essential that If something ought to be done it ought to be done It is not gradable and subject to essentiality qualifications Similarly with had better If it would be done, it is outside the scope of anyone to alter anything - so essential inessential does not apply
grammar - ought with or without to? - English Language Usage . . . I wonder when I can say "ought" without "to" Some examples: 1: Ought I to tell him? 2: Yes, you ought to; 3: No, you ought not to; 4: I don't learn as often as I ought to; 5: ‘Ought I to write to say thank you?’ ‘Yes, I think you ought (to) ’ (From Oxford Learner's Dictionary) 6: We ought not to have ordered so much food