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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > ought to/should...    

ought to/should...



niacouto
Portugal

ought to/should...
 
I was here wondering about the difference between these two verbs: ought to and should...
Any help would be nice Embarrassed. Thanks in advance.
Nat�lia

9 Dec 2012      





cgaiato
Portugal

Ought to - mild obligation / has to do with moral responsability
You ought to behave well in class.
 
Should - when you give an advice (not as strong as ought to)
You should study hard when you have tests.

9 Dec 2012     



niacouto
Portugal

Thanks cgaiato. I thought it might be something else besides the explanation you provided.
H&K

9 Dec 2012     



ironik
Australia

As far as I know, there is no difference in meaning.

9 Dec 2012     



Pelletrine
France

�should � is a real modal, like �must �, �can �, �might �, �could � and so on... They modify the sense of the verb following the modal (always infinitive without �to �). �Ought to � is not a modal : therefore the �to � so you put the following verb in the infinitive.

Have a look below ... sometimes it can even be used with �should �  ;o))
(the ref. is copied from The Free Dictionary)
hope it helps

ought 1  (�t)
aux.v.
1. Used to indicate obligation or duty: You ought to work harder than that.
2. Used to indicate advisability or prudence: You ought to wear a raincoat.
3. Used to indicate desirability: You ought to have been there; it was great fun.
4. Used to indicate probability or likelihood: She ought to finish by next week.

[Middle English oughtento be obliged to, from oughteowned, from Old English hte, past tense of ganto possess; see aik- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Unlike other auxiliary verbs, ought usually takes to with its accompanying verb: We ought to go. Sometimes the accompanying verb is dropped if the meaning is clear: Should we begin soon? Yes, we ought to. In questions and negative sentences, especially those with contractions, to is also sometimes omitted: Oughtn �t we be going soon? This omission of to, however, is not common in written English. Like must and auxiliary need, ought to does not change to show past tense: He said we ought to get moving along. � Usages such as He hadn �t ought to come and She shouldn �t ought to say that are common in many varieties of American English. They should be avoided in written English, however, in favor of the more standard variant ought not to.

9 Dec 2012     



niacouto
Portugal

Pelletrine:

Now I am REALLY confused because:
1. I �ve always thought "ought to" to be a modal verb (and I don �t think the explanation in The Free Dictionary says it isn �t);
2. I can �t see any circumstance in which "sometimes it can even be used with �should �"; I believe you wanted to mean it may be used instead of "should".
Wacko
H&K
Nat�lia

9 Dec 2012     



Pelletrine
France

I �m so sorry to confuse you !! THAT wasn �t my intention Embarrassed
1. I just wanted to remind that when you use �ought � you must add �to � before the verb it modifies .... 
2. �she shouldn �t ought to say that � .... was one of the examples given above.
...... as far as I percieve it, �ought to � is a stronger modifier of advice than �should � it implies a kind of obligation to do so... but in spoken English ... they are sometimes very similar.

... as cgaiato put it ;o))

Hope you �re less confused Wink

9 Dec 2012     



niacouto
Portugal

Never mind dear Pelletrine. That example sounds really awkward to me Wacko

Thank you so much!!! have a great week, you all Hug
Nat�lia

9 Dec 2012     



yanogator
United States

Modals use the infinitive without "to", so "ought to" is not a modal. The meanings of "ought to" and "should" are essentially the same, at least in the US. Some people probably distinguish between them, but most people don �t. Bruce

9 Dec 2012     



Zora
Canada

@niacouto,

ought to (and �need to � actually) are taught along with the modals because they follow more or less the same rules. In fact, most books I �ve used consider them as such. They are actually semi-modals.

The trouble with �ought to � is that it �s falling out of fashion and you can �t used really use it in question form. It means basically the same as �should �.


10 Dec 2012     



chrissmolder
Australia

I �m not sure that ought to is falling out of fashion everywhere.  I am originally from the States and I have noticed native speakers from other countries use it far more often than I would (e.g. England--can anyone confirm that?).  I agree though--ought to is a semi modal.  I teach it at the same time as modals but point out the difference in form.  I think the meaning of ought to and should is the same but I agree with yanogator that some might feel differently.

I can think of one case where you have no choice but to mix and match modals and semi modals -- when teaching the past tense of modals.  There is no past tense form of must.  When talking about obligation it is necessary to use had to:

now: You must walk to school.
in the past: When I was a kid I had to walk to school.

10 Dec 2012     

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