ought to — used to express obligation, duty, or moral necessity
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: used to express obligation, duty, or moral necessity
Pronunciation (IPA): /ɔːt tuː/
Example Sentences
- You ought to see a dentist about that toothache
- Students ought to turn off their phones during class
- I ought to stop eating pizza for breakfast, but it tastes too good!
ought to
VERB[/ɔːt tuː/]
used to express obligation, duty, or moral necessity
You ought to wear a helmet when you ride that bike.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Ought derives from Old English 'agan' (to own, possess), originally functioning as the past tense of 'owe'. Over time, it grammaticalized from a possession verb into a modal auxiliary expressing obligation and necessity in modern English.
Breakdown
agan (to own/possess) > ought (expressing obligation/necessity). The semantic shift occurred as the past tense form was reanalyzed to express moral or logical obligation rather than literal possession.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“You ought to see a dentist about that toothache”
“Students ought to turn off their phones during class”
“I ought to stop eating pizza for breakfast, but it tastes too good!”
“You ought to have told me you were bringing a pet elephant to dinner”
📚Related Words
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