Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

OUGHT TO

398

Uses

The meanings of ought to are similar to the meanings of should.

What is desirable

Ought to

is used to refer to ideal or desired states of affairs. It is very similar to

should

, but is far less frequent:

I really 

ought to go outside and get some fresh air for a bit.

You 

ought to put more money into your pension fund.

A: Well that isn’t good enough. You ought to complain.

B: I don’t like complaining.

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539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Modality | 659

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What is likely

Less frequently, ought to is used, again in a similar way to should, to state what is

likely or probable:

I think it 

ought to take about three hours, if the traffic is not too bad.

[lecturer advising a student on which authors to read]

Er, look at Brinton and if necessary go to Rowland’s book. But I think Brinton

ought to be able to give you the information. 

Interrogative

Interrogatives with ought to are rare, and confined mostly to formal styles:

Who do you think it is? 

Ought we to call the police? 

Negative

The negative of ought to is ought not to or oughtn’t to, but both are infrequent,

especially in informal spoken language:

[speaker is talking about whether meetings at work are useful or not]

If I don’t feel the same when I come away as I did before I went, then I 

ought

not to have gone. 

Oughtn’t

is generally only found in question tags:

I ought to photocopy this, 

oughtn’t I?

An even rarer form of the negative, found only in formal styles, is not followed by to:

She 

ought not have felt either surprise or offence at the discovery that Emma

showed Jag her letters, but she could not ignore the fact that she felt both and

felt them sharply. 

To

is also omitted in question tags:

A: This picture ought to be hung somewhere, oughtn’t it? 

B: Yeah. 

A: Erm. Don’t know where though.

Past form

Ought to

has no past form. The perfect construction ought to have + -ed participle

is used to refer back to states of affairs which were desirable at points in the past:

We probably 

ought to have talked about it ages ago.

In informal conversation, question tags may occur with auxiliary did following

clauses with ought to have:

They 

ought to have told you, didn’t they?

660 | Modality

Cambridge Grammar of English

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