Advising: had better / had better not

🔊 The teacher reads for you

The radio host asks Karim Bishi whether citizens should be involved in the fight against corruption. His answer: « 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. » He is speaking about today and tomorrow — and yet he uses had, a past form. So what exactly does had better say, and when does it apply?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

تقديم النصح بـ ⁦had better⁩ والتحذير بـ ⁦had better not⁩، مع ذكر ما قد يحدث إن لم يُتّبع النصح
استعمال المصدر دون ⁦to⁩ بعد ⁦had better⁩، وفهم أنّ معناها الحاضر أو المستقبل رغم صيغة الماضي
استعمال الصيغة المختصرة ⁦'d better⁩ بعد الضمير
إعادة صياغة نصيحة مكتوبة بـ ⁦should · ought to · if I were you⁩ بعبارة ⁦had better⁩، والعكس

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الأفعال الناقصة ⁦should · ought to · must⁩
المصدر دون ⁦to⁩ ⁦(bare infinitive)⁩
جملة الشرط من النوع الثاني ⁦(if I were you, I would …)⁩

1. Had better: advice with a warning

⁦had better⁩ تعني ⁦should⁩ : نصيحة وراءها تحذير، لأنّ أمرا سيّئا قد يحدث إن لم تُتّبع. والنفي ⁦had better not⁩.

The meaning of had better — short form 'd better — is the same as that of should or ought to. When you tell someone that he had 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. » · « I'd better phone my mother now; she might get upset if I don't. » The negative form is had better not — 'd better not: « You look sick. You'd better not go to school today. » · « Are you going out this evening? » « I'd better not. I've got a terrible cold. » Even though we use the past (had), the meaning is always present or future. And had better is always followed by the infinitive without to: had better work, had better not go.

A radio interview on corruption — 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…

had better — form and meaning

Form	Example	Meaning
had better + infinitive without to	Citizens had better stop shrugging their shoulders.	advice: they should stop
had better not + infinitive without to	They had better not say that the fight is not their own business.	advice not to do something
'd better · 'd better not	You'd better not go to school today.	the short form, after a pronoun

Had is a past form, but the advice is for now or for later.

Task 1 — In Bishi's two sentences, what do had better and had better not express?

ماذا تعبّر عنه العبارتان في جملتي المتكلّم؟

Advice — what citizens should do, and what they should not say. Behind it, as always with had better, a warning: something bad might happen if they do not follow it.

Task 2 — What is the short form of had better? In which of Bishi's two sentences could you use it?

ما الصيغة المختصرة لـ ⁦had better⁩؟ وفي أيّ الجملتين يمكن استعمالها؟

The short form is 'd better. You can use it in the second sentence: « They'd better not say that the fight against corruption is not their own business. » The short form is written after a pronoun (I'd, you'd, they'd). After a noun, as in « Citizens had better stop … », keep had better.

2. The same advice, in other words

النصيحة نفسها بصيغ أخرى : ⁦should · ought to · if I were you⁩.

Advice can take several forms. Had better has the same meaning as should and ought to; and If I were you, I would (not) … gives advice to the person you are talking to. Only the verb form around the advice changes: should stop · ought to stop · had better stop · If I were you, I would stop.

Task 3 — Which of these items could express the same idea as Bishi's two sentences: may · could · ought to · should · must · have · If I were you · might? Use them to rewrite the sentences.

أيّ هذه العبارات تؤدّي معنى النصح نفسه؟ أعد بها كتابة الجملتين.

should: Citizens should stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste. They should not say that the fight against corruption is not their own business.
ought to: Citizens ought to stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste. They ought not to say that the fight against corruption is not their own business.
If I were you, to speak to one citizen: If I were you, I would stop shrugging my shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste.

Had better has the same meaning as should and ought to — which is why these two rewrite Bishi's sentences without changing their message.

Task 4 — Use the modal should in an interrogative sentence of your own.

اكتب سؤالا بالفعل الناقص ⁦should⁩.

The radio host has already done it: « Should citizens be involved in this fight to stop corruption? » Another one: « Should I report this bribe to the police? » In a question, should comes before the subject.

3. Rewrite the advice with had better

أعد صياغة كلّ نصيحة بـ ⁦had better⁩ أو ⁦had better not⁩ دون أن يتغيّر المعنى.

Task 5 — Rewrite statements 1-5 using had better ('d better) or had better not ('d better not), to convey the same meaning as the sentence given.

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

الإجابات : ابحث في كلّ مرّة عن النصيحة، وعن الأمر السيّئ الذي قد يحدث.

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

Each time the warning stays in the sentence — being late, a late fee, too much work: that is what had better is for.

Do this alone, in writing. A friend of yours sits the bac next June. Write him three pieces of advice with had better and two with had better not — and give, each time, the bad thing that might happen if he does not listen.

اكتب وحدك لصديق مقبل على البكالوريا ثلاث نصائح بـ ⁦had better⁩ ونصيحتين بـ ⁦had better not⁩، مع ذكر ما قد يحدث إن لم يسمع.

A model answer

You'd better revise a little every day; otherwise you might forget everything before June. You'd better sleep well the night before the exam, or you might feel tired. You'd better arrive early at the exam centre: you might not find your room at once. You'd better not stay up all night; you might fall asleep during the exam. You'd better not copy from your neighbour: you might be caught.

In the exam, advice is tested in the text exploration: you rewrite a sentence so that it keeps its meaning — « If I were you, I wouldn't go to work today » becomes « You'd better not go to work today » — or you complete a sentence with the right form. Have three things ready: ① had better = should or ought to, with a warning behind it; ② the infinitive without to after it: had better go, never ✗ « had better to go »; ③ the negative had better not, never ✗ « hadn't better ». The frequent mistake: reading had as a past — the advice is for now or for later.

What I keep — Had better ('d better) gives advice, like should or ought to, with a warning behind it: something bad might happen if the advice is not followed. Its negative is had better not ('d better not). It is followed by the infinitive without to, and even though had is a past form, the meaning is present or future: « Citizens had better stop shrugging their shoulders. »

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