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Licinio Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

had better

I have always seen with a present meaning. Would it work in this past-tense context?

Oddly enough we conversed in tentative German. Although it impaired my possibilities of expression, I was determined to make use of it in the next two days, so I’d better start brushing it up from the very beginning.
  

Top answer

licinio Would it work in this past-tense context? No. It doesn't work for me as is, but it works with "I thought".

  • licinio Would it work in this past-tense context?
  • No.
  • It doesn't work for me as is, but it works with "I thought".
  • , so I thought I'd better start ...
  • Likewise, I told myself that I'd better start ...
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2 Answers
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licinioWould it work in this past-tense context?
No. It doesn't work for me as is, but it works with "I thought".

... I was determined ..., so I thought I'd better start ...

Likewise, I told myself that I'd better start ... or I decided that I'd better start ...

For some reason, it sounds like it has a present-tense me
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Thanks, just as I expected!

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