A practical english grammar - Vyssaja skola 1978
Special modals
Sound symbols
We list here some expressions that are similar to modals in meaning, but are unusual in their form.
OUGHT TO. This expression is exactly like the other modals, except for the presence of to. Its meaning is very similar to that of should (obligation). It is weaker than must: failure to do something that one ought to do does not entail the same penalties as failure to do something that one must do.
You ought to save your money; you’re going to need it later.
Ought to has only one form, used for all subjects. The negative, for most American speakers, is ought not to.
They ought not to make so much noise at this hour of the night.
Some speakers use the contraction oughtn’t, but it is not frequent in the United States.
The echo construction is ought (not) to. This expression is avoided in tag questions, since to most Americans ought I? (you, he, etc.) sounds strange and overly formal. Many speakers therefore replace ought to by should in tag questions.
We ought to wait for John, shouldn’t we?
HAD BETTER. This expression is almost always spoken as a contraction, ’d better. It expresses a recommendation or warning.
You’d better wait until the light changes before crossing the street.
The negative is’d better not.
You’d better not antagonize him; he has a quick temper.
The echo is ’d better (not). The interrogative is had + subject + better, hadn’t + subject + better, or had + subject + better not.
Had I better wait for him?
Yes, I think you’d better.
Hadn’t we better leave now?
In tag questions, had alone is used.
We’d better go now, hadn’t we?
WOULD or HAD RATHER. The grammar of this expression is the same as that of had better. The first word is usually a contraction, ’d, which can stand for either would or had, of course. The full form of the first word usually appears only in questions or in the echo form in tag questions. Most speakers today say would; some say had. There is no difference in meaning.
This modal expresses a preference. It is usually followed by than.
I’d rather have tea than coffee.
You’d rather swim than play tennis, wouldn’t you?
Hadn’t you rather stay here?
Yes, I’d rather, but I can’t.
DARE and NEED. The grammar of these verbs is inconsistent. They occur both as modals, behaving just like can or must, and as ordinary verbs, behaving just like have in have to. As modals, they arc usually restricted in modern English to use in the negative and in questions.
Dare you question my honesty?
I dare not disobey the General’s order.
I told him he dare not delay any longer.
Dare as a modal is always quite formal; it is not too frequent in modem American English.
Dare sometimes occurs with do, does, or did (but without to), indicating that speakers are somewhat unsure of its grammar. They treat it as an ordinary verb, and yet follow it by another verb as though it were a modal.
He didn’t dare lie to his father, and yet he was afraid to tell him the truth.
Do we dare take that risk?
The idiom I daresay, meaning approximately “I think it is probably true (that . . .)” is often said before other sentences or used parenthetically in them. The only subject ever used is I, and the expression is never followed by that.
That country is pretty far to the south; I daresay its climate is quite warm.
Your gift made her happy, I daresay.
Need as a modal is used quite frequently in modern English in negative and interrogative contexts.
We needn’t wait any longer.
I told him he needn’t come to the office on Saturday.
Need I bring this report to you at once?
Both dare and need can be followed by infinitives. (See Chapter 10.)