Page 407 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford
P. 407
3 in front of and in the front of
If you are in front of a place, vehicle etc you are outside it; if you are in the front of it you are inside. Compare:
We stood in front ofher car so that she couldn't drive off.
Her husband was sitting in thefront ofthe car. He loolcedfrightened.
For the difference between before and in from of, see 98.
403 ought
1 forms
ought is a modal auxiliary verb (see 353-354). The third person singular has no -so
She ought to understand. (NOT She Bf:tghts ...) Questions and negatives are made without do.
Ought we to go now? (NOT DB Itfe Bf:tght . ..?)
It oughtn't to rain today.
After ought, we use the infinitive with to before other verbs. (This makes ought different from other modal auxiliary verbs.)
You ought to see a dentist. To is not used in question tags.
We ought to wake Helen, oughtn't we? (NOT ••• 6f:tghtn't Itfe wi')
In American English, interrogative and contracted negative forms of ought to are rare; should is generally used instead.
He ought to be here soon, shouldn't he?
In some English dialects, questions and negatives are made with did (e.g. She didn't ought to do that), but this structure is not used in standard English.
2 obligation: I ought to phone Mother
We can use ought to advise people (including ourselves) to do things; to tell people that they have a duty to do things; to ask about our duty. The meaning is very similar to that of should; it is not so strong as must (see 520). Ought is less frequent than should.
What time ought I to arrive?
I really ought to phone Mother.
People ought not to drive lilce that.
He ought to get a medal for living with her. There ought to be traffic lights at this crossroads.
3 deduction: He ought to be here soon
We can also use ought (like should) to say that we guess or conclude that something is probable (because it is logical or normal).
Henry ought to be here soon - he left home at six.
We're spending the winter in Miami. "" That ought to be nice. The weather ought to improve after the weelcend.
•
ought 403
page 375