Had better & have got to

Question

You had better eat that food.  why is it "had"?  What purpose does it serve?  Why isn't "eaten" used?same question on "have got to"why is it "got" and not "get"?

Fandorin · Accepted Answer

Hi Anon.

Had better is a solid expression which used to give advice and time is a present.

Have/has got ~~get~~ is a rather informal variant of have/has.

Why? I think you had better have got a good historical book.

Anonymous · Answer

why it's "had" and not "have"?

had better... solid expression? meaning what?

Yankee · Answer

Hi Anon

"Had better do" basically means "ought to do" or "would be advisable to do".

"Have got to do" means basically the same thing as "have to do" or "must do". It indicates obligation. To me, "have got to" is somewhat more emphatic than "have to".

Fandorin · Answer

FandorinHad better is a solid expression which used to give advice

You had better leave now, otherwise we are late on the bus. (If we don't hurry, we will be late).

You had better check e-mail or you can miss the job you want.

John'd better shut his mouth, Jane seems to punish him right now.

As I said above, had better and have got are used as solid and non-cnangeable expressoins. The quiestion "why" is really beyond me.

http://www.englishpage.com/modals/hadbetter.html

The idioms had better and had best resemble an auxiliary verb in that their form never changes to show person or tense and that they cannot follow another verb in a phrase. In informal speech, people tend to omit had, especially with had better, as in You better do it. In formal contexts and in writing, however, had or its contraction must be preserved: You had better do it or You'd better do it. See Usage Note at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/%20rather.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/had%20better?qsrc=2888

The cite: "The idioms had better and had best resemble an auxiliary verb in that their form never changes to show person or tense and that they cannot follow another verb in a phrase. In informal speech, people tend to omit had, especially with had better, as in You better do it. In formal contexts and in writing, however, had or its contraction must be preserved: You had better do it or You'd better do it. See Usage Note at "

Take in those links and I guess all will be clear as sky.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousYou had better eat that food.

why is it "had"? What purpose does it serve? Why isn't "eaten" used?

same question on "have got to"

why is it "got" and not "get"?

These word groupings are idioms. The words of an idiom do not "serve a purpose" in the sense you are asking the question. Idioms are usually cases where the usual logic and rules do not apply, so you have to memorize them and learn to use them as they are. There's no logic to it!

CJ

Had better & have got to

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions