Asking for and giving advice and warning: should, ought to, had better

🔊 المعلّمة تقرأ لك

« I think citizens had better stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste. » On the radio, the head of an anti-corruption association does more than give advice: he warns. If citizens look away, corruption will go on. You already know should, ought to and had better; this lesson makes sure you can use them to advise, to ask for advice and to warn. So when is should enough — and when do you need had better?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

تقديم النصح بـ ⁦should⁩ و ⁦ought to⁩ و ⁦If I were you⁩، وطلبه بـ ⁦Should I …?⁩
النصح مع التحذير بـ ⁦had better⁩ ونفيها ⁦had better not⁩، وصيغتيهما المختصرتين ⁦'d better⁩ و ⁦'d better not⁩
إدراك أنّ ⁦had better⁩ تدلّ على الحاضر أو المستقبل رغم صيغة الماضي، وأنّها تُتبع بالمصدر دون ⁦to⁩
إعادة كتابة نصيحة بـ ⁦had better⁩ دون تغيير معناها

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الأفعال الناقصة مثل ⁦can⁩ و ⁦must⁩ متبوعة بالمصدر
صيغة السؤال في الإنجليزية
الجملة الشرطية بـ ⁦if⁩

1. Giving advice: should, ought to, If I were you

لتقديم النصح نستعمل ⁦should⁩ أو ⁦ought to⁩ متبوعتين بالمصدر، أو نضع أنفسنا مكان المخاطَب بـ ⁦If I were you⁩. ولطلب النصح نسأل بـ ⁦Should I …?⁩.

To give advice — to tell someone what we think is good for them to do — we use should or ought to + a verb in the infinitive: « You should pay your electricity bill within a fortnight. » After should, the infinitive comes without to (should pay); in ought to, the to is already there (ought to pay). The negative is should not (shouldn't). We can also imagine ourselves in the other person's place: « If I were you, I wouldn't go to work today. » To ask for advice, put should before the subject: « Should I keep these files in a safety deposit box? » — « Yes, you should. »

Talk of the Nation — Karim Bishi, Head of the Right-to-Know Association

Radio host: Sorry to interrupt you, but should citizens be involved in this fight to stop corruption? Bishi: Now, if you ask me, I will say that corruption is not the affair of the Government only. So I think citizens had better stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste. They had better not say that the fight against corruption is not their own business because it is…

Three ways to give advice, one way to ask for it

Structure	Example	Note
should + infinitive	You should pay your electricity bill within a fortnight.	negative: should not (shouldn't)
ought to + infinitive	You ought to pay your electricity bill within a fortnight.	the same meaning as should
If I were you, I would …	If I were you, I wouldn't go to work today.	you imagine yourself in the other person's place
Should I …?	Should I keep these files in a safety deposit box? — Yes, you should.	to ask for advice

Task 1 — Find the question with should in the interview. How is it built?

ابحث في المقابلة عن السؤال الذي فيه ⁦should⁩: كيف بُني؟

« Should citizens be involved in this fight to stop corruption? » It is built like every question with a modal: should + subject + infinitive — should + citizens + be involved. Here the infinitive is in the passive voice (be involved), because citizens are the ones who would be involved in the fight.

Task 2 — Use should in a question of your own, to ask for advice.

اطرح سؤالا من إنشائك بـ ⁦should⁩ تطلب فيه نصيحة.

For example: « Should I tell my teacher that I didn't understand the lesson? » — « Yes, you should. » or « If I were you, I would ask him after class. » Check your question: should comes first, then the subject, then the infinitive without to.

2. Advice with a warning: had better, had better not

⁦had better⁩ نصيحة فيها تحذير: ننصح بأمر لأنّ عاقبة سيّئة قد تقع إن لم يُفعل. نفيها ⁦had better not⁩، ويليها المصدر دون ⁦to⁩، ومعناها للحاضر أو المستقبل رغم صيغة الماضي.

Had better ('d better) has the same meaning as should and ought to — with a warning inside. When you tell your friend that he'd better do something, you advise him to do it because you think that something bad might happen if he doesn't: « You had better work harder; otherwise you might fail your exam. » The negative is had better not ('d better not): « You look sick. You'd better not go to school today. » Two things to remember. Even though it uses the past form had, had better always refers to the present or the future. And it is always followed by the infinitive without to: had better work.

had better — full and short forms

Form	Full form	Short form
affirmative	You had better work harder.	You'd better work harder.
negative	You had better not go to school today.	You'd better not go to school today.

had better + infinitive without to — a present or future meaning, never a past one.

Task 3 — In the interview, what do had better and had better not express? Which items of this box could express the same idea: may · could · ought to · should · must · have · If I were you · might?

علامَ تدلّ ⁦had better⁩ و ⁦had better not⁩ في المقابلة؟ وأيّ كلمات الإطار تؤدّي المعنى نفسه؟

They express advice with a warning: if citizens go on looking away, corruption will win. The items that express the same idea are should, ought to and If I were you: « Citizens should stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse. » — « Citizens ought to stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse. » « They should not say that the fight against corruption is not their own business. » The others in the box do not give advice.

Task 4 — What is the short form of had better? In which of the two sentences of the interview could you use it?

ما الصيغة المختصرة لـ ⁦had better⁩؟ وفي أيّ جملتي المقابلة تُستعمل؟

The short form is 'd better ('d better not). It is written after a pronoun, as in the examples of the rule — you'd, he'd. So it fits the second sentence: « They'd better not say that the fight against corruption is not their own business. »

3. Advising and warning in everyday situations

في كلّ موقف ابحث عن العاقبة السيّئة المحتملة، فهي التحذير الذي تحمله ⁦had better⁩.

Rewrite each statement with had better ('d better) or had better not ('d better not), keeping the same meaning.

1. I have to meet our manager in 20 minutes. I must go now or I'll be late. 2. « Should I keep these files in a safety deposit box? » « Yes, you should. They contain top secret information about our company. » 3. You don't look very well. If I were you, I wouldn't go to work today. 4. You should pay your electricity bill within a fortnight, otherwise you will owe a late fee. 5. « Let's go out tonight. » « I don't think we should. We've a lot of work to do. »

Task 5 — the answers, and the warning in each

أعد كتابة كلّ جملة بـ ⁦had better⁩ أو ⁦had better not⁩ دون تغيير معناها.

1. I'd better go now, or I'll be late. — the warning: being late for the manager.
2. You'd better keep these files in a safety deposit box: they contain top secret information about our company.
3. You'd better not go to work today. — « If I were you, I wouldn't… » becomes 'd better not.
4. You'd better pay your electricity bill within a fortnight, otherwise you will owe a late fee.
5. We'd better not go out tonight: we've a lot of work to do.

In each sentence, look for the bad consequence — being late, a secret revealed, a late fee. That is the warning that had better carries.

Do this alone, in writing. A friend of yours has an exam next week and spends his evenings on his phone. Write him three pieces of advice: one with should, one with If I were you, and one warning with had better and otherwise. Then check: is the verb after should and had better in the infinitive without to?

اكتب وحدك ثلاث نصائح لصديق يقضي أمسياته على هاتفه قبل امتحانه: نصيحة بـ ⁦should⁩، وأخرى بـ ⁦If I were you⁩، وتحذيرا بـ ⁦had better⁩.

A model answer

You should switch off your phone after dinner. If I were you, I would revise a little every evening. You'd better start now; otherwise you might fail your exam.

In the exam, advice is often tested in rewriting: a sentence with should, must or If I were you to rewrite with had better, or the reverse, without changing its meaning. Have three things ready: ① should and ought to give advice; had better gives advice with a warning — something bad might happen otherwise; ② had better + infinitive without to, negative had better not, short form 'd better; ③ had better refers to the present or the future, never to the past. The frequent mistake is « had better to go » or « had not better go »: write had better go, had better not go.

What I keep — To give advice, I use should or ought to + infinitive, or If I were you, I would…; to ask for advice, Should I…? When I want to warn, I use had better ('d better) + infinitive without to, and had better not in the negative: something bad might happen otherwise. Its form is past, but its meaning is present or future: « Citizens had better stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse. »

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