Master confusing words with ease
Ought to vs. Had ought to
Ought to
/ɔːt tuː/Examples:
She ought to finish her homework before dinner.You ought to apologize for being late to the meeting.They ought to plan their holiday well in advance.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Had ought to
/hæd ˈɔːt tuː/Examples:
You had ought to listen to their advice on this matter.Considering the circumstances, we had ought to proceed carefully.Before leaving, she had ought to check the weather forecast.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Ought to is the correct standard form and does not require any additional words for grammatical correctness.
- Had ought to is a nonstandard variation and considered incorrect by most grammarians.
- Remember that ought is already a modal verb indicating obligation, so adding had is unnecessary.
- Think of ought to as similar to should, which also stands alone as a modal verb.
- When in doubt, leave out had if youre using ought to' in a professional or formal context.
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