forms
Ought is a modal auxiliary verb (see modal auxiliary verbs: introduction-354). The third person singular has no -s.
She ought to understand, (NOT She oughts-…)
Questions and negatives are made without do.
Ought we to go now? (NOT Do we ought…?)
It oughtn’t to rain today.
After ought, we use the infinitive with to before other verbs. (This makes ought different from other modal auxiliary verbs.)
You ought to see a dentist.
To
is not used in question tags.
We ought to wake Helen, oughtn’t we? (NOT … oughtn’t we to?)
In American English, interrogative and contracted negative forms of ought to are rare; should is generally used instead.
He ought to be here soon, shouldn’t he?
In some English dialects, questions and negatives are made with did (e.g. She didn’t ought to do that), but this structure is not used in standard English.
obligation: I ought to phone Mother
We can use ought to advise people (including ourselves) to do things; to tell people that they have a duty to do things; to ask about our duty. The meaning is very similar to that of should; it is not so strong as must (see should 3: should, ought and must). Ought is less frequent than should.
What time ought I to arrive?
I really ought to phone Mother.
People ought not to drive like that.
He ought to get a medal for living with her.
There ought to be traffic lights at this crossroads.
deduction: He ought to be here soon
We can also use ought (like should) to say that we guess or conclude that something is probable (because it is logical or normal).
Henry ought to be here soon – he left home at six.
We’re spending the winter in Miami. ought That ought to be nice.
The weather ought to improve after the weekend. ?
questions
The normal question forms of ought are rather formal. In an informal style they are often avoided, for example by using a structure with think… ought or by using should.
Do you think we ought to go now? (Less formal than Ought we to …?) Should we go now?
ought to have …
Ought
has no past form, but we can use ought to have + past participle to talk about things which were supposed to happen but did not.
I ought to have phoned Ed this morning, but I forgot, (NOT 1 ought to phone Ed this morning, but I forget.)
The structure can also be used to make guesses or draw conclusions about things which are not certain to have happened.
Bill ought to have got back home yesterday. Has anybody seen him?
It is also possible to talk about things that ought to have happened by now, or by a future time.
Ten o’clock. She ought to have arrived at her office by now.
We ought to have finished painting the house by the end of next week.
word order
Mid-position adverbs like always, never, really (see adverb position 4: mid-position) can go before or after ought in a verb phrase. The position before ought is less formal.
You always ought to carry some spare money, (less formal)
You ought always to carry some spare money, (more formal)
In negative clauses, not comes before to.
You ought not to go. / You oughtn’t to go. (NOT You oitghMo-not-go.)
ought
• see ought
• and had better see had better.1
• and should see ought.2
• in indirect speech see indirect speech 5: advanced points.3
• ought, must and should see should 3: should, ought and must
• ought to have done see ought.5
• question and negative forms see ought.1 , see adverb position 4: mid-position
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