what+ought+to+be

  • 1ought — In current use the verb ought is followed by a to infinitive: • You ought to have a cooked breakfast, these cold mornings David Lodge, 1988. Since it is a modal verb, it forms a negative directly with not and forms a question by plain inversion:… …

    Modern English usage

  • 2ought — 1. verb /ɔːt,ɔt,ɑt/ a) Indicating duty or obligation. There was a certayne lender, which had two detters, the one ought five hondred pence, and the other fifty. b) Indicating advisability or prudence. witnesse Aristippus, who being urged with the …

    Wiktionary

  • 3ought — [ ɔt ] modal verb *** Ought is usually followed by to and an infinitive: You ought to tell the truth. Sometimes it is used without to or a following infinitive in a formal way: I don t practice as often as I ought. It is also used in an informal… …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 4ought to — W2S1 [ˈo:t tu: US ˈo:t ] modal v [: Old English; Origin: ahte, past tense of agan; OWE] 1.) used to say that someone should do something because it is the best or most sensible thing to do = ↑should ▪ You really ought to quit smoking. ▪ The… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 5ought — modal verb 1 used to say that someone should do something because it is the best or most sensible thing to do: ought to do sth: I think you ought to make more time for yourself to relax. | What you ought to have done is called the police. | If… …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 6ought — [[t]ɔ͟ːt[/t]] ♦♦♦ (Ought to is a phrasal modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb. The negative form of ought to is ought not to, which is sometimes shortened to oughtn t to in spoken English.) 1) PHR MODAL You use ought to to mean… …

    English dictionary

  • 7ought */*/*/ — UK [ɔːt] / US [ɔt] modal verb Summary: Ought is usually followed by to and an infinitive: You ought to tell the truth. Sometimes it is used without to or a following infinitive in a formal way: I don t practise as often as I ought. It is also… …

    English dictionary

  • 8ought*/*/*/ — [ɔːt] modal verb summary: ■ Ought is usually followed by ‘to and an infinitive: You ought to tell the truth. Sometimes it is followed by ‘to but no following infinitive: I don t spend as much time with them as I ought to. ■ Ought has no tenses,… …

    Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • 9what's what —  How things ought to be (done) etc.    ♣ I ll show them what s what! wheel v. Bring …

    A concise dictionary of English slang

  • 10Is–ought problem — David Hume raised the is ought problem in his Treatise of Human Nature The is–ought problem in meta ethics as articulated by Scottish philosopher and historian, David Hume (1711–1776), is that many writers make claims about what ought to be on… …

    Wikipedia