Should and ought to for advice

Those nineteenth-century moralists! Can you imagine what today’s world would have been like if women such as Florence Nightingale, Emmeline Pankhurst, or Harriet Beecher Stowe had confined their thoughts to family life? While the viewpoint behind it may be outdated, this famous quotation is a neat way of illustrating one of the main uses of ought, namely expressing the speaker’s view as to a correct or dutiful course of action, often imbued with a tinge of social rectitude.

As you may know, ought is a special type of verb known as a modal verb: I’ve covered some of these already in earlier blogs. I’d now like to turn my attention to a trio of modals which share a similar range of meanings: must, ought, and should. All these verbs can be used to talk about duty and obligation, to give advice or instructions, or to express degrees of probability. Should can also be used in other ways, but as I’m endeavouring to keep this fairly brief, I’ll save my discussion of conditional meanings of should and the difference between should and would for another day. If you’re avid for all the information right this minute, you can find a full rundown of should here.

Let’s explore the central meanings of must, should, and ought first, then we’ll turn to their similarities and differences, so as to help you use each verb in the most effective and idiomatic way.

Must

We use must in three main ways:

• to talk about something that has to be done because it’s compulsory or obligatory (that is, it’s absolutely necessary to obey a rule, law, order, or instruction):

Online stores must give a cooling-off period of seven working days.

She was told that she must not discuss the case with third parties, including her MP.

or because it’s very important:

To calm public opinion, police mustquickly arrest the culprits and solve this case.

I must get back to work: a deadline approaches.

• to express the view that something is highly likely because it’s a logical conclusion based on something else that the speaker knows, or it’s the normal thing to expect:

Our measurements show that exactly the opposite must be the case.

Her mega hairdo must have taken several cans of hairspray to achieve.

• to say to someone that you strongly recommend or advise something because it’s a good idea:

If you go to Barcelona, you must see the cathedral.

We get on well and keep saying we must meet up for lunch sometime.

Ought

We use ought in three main ways:

• to express the view that something is the right thing to do, because it’s morally correct, polite, or someone’s duty:

You ought to admit that you made a mistake.

They ought not to be allowed to damage property without paying compensation.

• to predict that something is fairly likely or expected, based on normal circumstances or logic:

Our long-delayed mail is on the way from France and ought to arrive today.

The weather oughtn’t to be cold in May.

• to offer or ask for advice or recommendations:

If you haven’t read the book then you ought to see the movie.

What ought to be done to improve things?

Should

Here are the three main meanings of should:

• to talk about what we think is the right or correct thing to do, especially from the point of view of duty or appropriatenes

Lll employees should be provided with a proper job description.

Children shouldn’t be allowed to watch too much TV.

• to give or ask for advice or suggestions:

I told Kathy she should try to get some rest.

Can you recommend any exercises, or should I see a doctor?

• to predict that something will probably happen or is expected to be the case, based on logic or a typical situation:

My sister’s on her way, she should be here soon.

By next month I should have enough money to buy a car.

Differences and similarities

We can compare and contrast must, ought, and should according to two categories: meaning and grammar.

As we’ve seen, we can use all three verbs to express broadly similar meanings: the main distinctions between them are related to degrees of emphasis. Must is the most emphatic: you use it when you’re confident about a conclusion, or when you want to stress that it’s very important for someone to follow your recommendations. You also use must to refer to something that’s required by a rule or law. Unlike should and ought, mustisn’t used to make predictions:

✓   According to the forecast, it shouldbe warm tomorrow.

✓   According to the forecast, it oughtto be warm tomorrow.

X    According to the forecast, it mustbe warm tomorrow.

Ought is less strong than must, and isn’t used to talk about things that are compulsory. It often carries with it slightly more forcefulness and more of a sense of moral obligation or appropriateness than should.

The meanings of should that we’re addressing in this blog overlap with those of ought, but should is much more common statistically. There are over 2 million instances of should on the Oxford English Corpus, compared with around 71,000 occurrences of ought. In particular, should is much more frequent in questions or negative constructions than ought. Should is the least forceful of the trio: it’s mostly used to make suggestions and more tentative predictions.

Compare the nuances of meaning in the following:

If you have a mole that starts to bleed, you must see a doctor. [it’s vital, as it could be cancer]

The fat content of the cheese must not exceed 44%. [this is to obey a food regulation]

The object of the exercise was to prevent the public from seeing what they ought to see. [it’s morally desirable that people knew]

I ought to eat more fruit and vegetables. [it’s a good idea and will make me healthier]

You should see the size of the crowds he plays in front of! [this is my opinion, but you don’t actually need to see the crowds for yourself]

I think I should go home. [I’m considering this as an option]

Having said this, however, there’s frequently little distinction in meaning between ought and should, and indeed it is possible to have the same interpretation using one or both alternatives. Should is more common in questions, especially in daily conversation: ought sounds rather formal when used interrogatively. Additionally, speakers of North American English tend to use should rather than ought when expressing a negative idea (we shouldn’t turn away from such opportunities rather than we oughtn’t to turn away from such opportunities).

Example:

.

Present perfect and simple past

In this week’s episode of Everyday Grammar we’re going to help you understand the difference between the simple past and the present perfect. English learners often confuse these two verb tenses.

Let’s start with an example. Can you tell the difference between these two sentences?

Sentence one: I saw the movie.

Sentence two: I have seen the movie.

Sentence one uses the simple past tense. Sentence two uses the present perfect tense.

“I saw the movie” and “I have seen the movie” both refer to an action that was finished in the past. But there is one important difference: “I saw the movie” suggests that you saw the movie at a specific time in the past. “I have seen the movie” suggests that you saw the movie at an unknown time in the past.

Use the simple past to talk about a finished action that happened at a specific time. For example, “I went out with my friends last night.” The adverb “last night” is not required, but it does help clarifythat the event happened at a specific time.

That’s the easy part. Now let’s talk about the present perfect. You form the present perfect by using “have” or “has” followed by the past participle form of the verb. For example, “I have graduated from college.”The present perfect confuses English learners because it refers to a past action. It is also called “present perfect” because speakers use it to stress the importance of a past event in the present. The sentence “I have graduated from college,” emphasizes the present effect of a past event -- graduation. The exact time of the graduation is not important.

There are four more common situations that require the present perfect.

First, it can express a repeated action. When an action happened more than one time in the past, use the present perfect. For example, “I have seen the movie three times”.

Second, it is common to use the present perfect with the words “for” and “since.” “For” and “since” are adverbs that tell about the duration of an activity. They answer the question “how long?” For example, “I have studied English for a long time”.

Third, the negative adverb “never” requires the present perfect. You can say, “I have never been to France.” You would not say, “I did never go to France.”

Finally, when asking a question in the present perfect, use “ever,” as in, “Have you ever won the lottery?” Listen for the present perfect question in this song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I wanna know have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know have you ever seen the rain

Coming down on a sunny day?

In an informal situation, you can take out the word “have” in a present perfect question. Listen to actor Jack Nicholson playing the Joker in the 1989 movie Batman. Before the Joker takes his victims, he asks them an unusual question.

Tell me something, my friend. You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Here’s a tip: pay close attention to adverbs. Adverbs give hints, or clues, about which verb tense you should use. Take a look at the reference list below.

A good way to practice the present perfect is to ask an English-speaking friend if he or she has ever done something. “Have you ever flown in an airplane?” or “Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?” You could even ask something more profoundlike, “Have you ever seen the rain coming down on a sunny day?”

I wanna know have you ever seen the rain

Coming down on a sunny day?

I’m Ashley Thompson.

And I’m Jonathan Evans.

Adam Brock wrote and produced this story for VOA Learning English. Jill Robbins was the edit

Reference

Forming the present perfect

Have/has + past participle verb

Ex. I have proven her theory.

Ex. She has gotten promoted.

Common adverbs in the simple past: last night, last year, yesterday, today, ago, first, then, later, when

Ex. Yesterday morning, I went to the store.

Ex. When I lived in Boston, I worked at a deli.

Common adverbs in the present perfect: before, after, already, yet, for, since, recently, still, time

Ex. I have already eaten.

Ex. I have already visited Angola three times.

Tip 1: Be careful of irregular verbs in the present perfect. With irregular verbs, the simple past and the past participle form are usually different.

INCORRECT: I have already did it.

CORRECT: I have already done it.

Tip 2: Make sure to use “has” for the third person in the present perfect.

INCORRECT: She have not read the book yet.

CORRECT: She has not read the book yet.

Words in This Story

simple past tense – n. the basic form of the past tense in English. It is used to describe events that finished at a specific time in the past.

present perfect tense – n. A grammatical combination of the present tense and the perfect aspect, used to express a past event that has present consequences.

unspecified – adj. not specified or particular

clarify – v. to make (something) clear or clearer: such as

duration –n. the length of time that something exists or lasts

victim – n. a person who has been attacked, injured, robbed, or killed by someone else

pale – adj. light in color

profound – adj. having or showing great knowledge or understanding

Example;