Using 'Had better': How and When to Use in English
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Using 'Had better'
I had better ('it would be a good idea if I', 'it would be better for me to') is used as a modal auxiliary verb:
I had (or I'd) better sleep now. It would be a good idea for me to sleep now.
You'd better discuss this issue with Bruno. You should discuss this issue with Bruno.
We'd better leave before the police come. Let's leave before the police come.
He'd better not come. It would be a bad idea for him to come.
Had better is always followed by a verb in the infinitive without 'to':
You had better BE on time. You must or should be on time.
Had better is ALWAYS formed from the auxiliary verb 'have' in the past simple ('has better' or 'will have better' do not exist!).
She had better be ready for next week's meeting. She really must be ready for next week's meeting.
In informal English, we sometimes say I had best, used with the same meaning:
I'd best go home. It would be good for me to go home.
You'd best listen to what he has to say. It would be a good idea for you to listen to what he has to say.
Exercise 1
I go home. I still to do a lot of homework.
I had better 1 go home. I still need 2 to do a lot of homework.
1 had better: We use 'had better' as an auxiliary to express a strong suggestion or warning. Here the speaker suggests that he or she should probably go home as a result of the homework they must do. Note that 'had better' must be followed by the shortened infinitive form of a verb without 'to' (example: 'go').
1 need: We cannot use the auxiliary 'need' in this case. 'Need' requires that a full infinitive verb ('to go') follow it in order to express obligation or necessity.
2 need: 'Need' is the best choice here, because the speaker is expressing an obligation. Note that it is followed by the full infinitive verb 'to do'.
2 had better: 'Had better' cannot be followed by the full infinitive 'to do' in this case. The 'had better' construction is never followed by a verb in the full infinitive form (with 'to').
Exercise 2
Big Joey not show his face around here, or else we'll express our displeasure with him. He to leave the state.
Big Joey had better 1 not show his face around here, or else we'll express our displeasure with him. He would be smart 2 to leave the state.
1 had better: The 'had better' construction is being used here to express the sense of 'warning'. In this case, the speaker expressing that Big Joey SHOULD NOT show his face around here, or that Big Joey would do well to stay away. Note that 'had better' must be followed by the shortened infinitive form of a verb without 'to' (example: 'show').
1 would be smart: We cannot use 'would be smart' here because the verb 'show' is not in the full infinitive form (with 'to'). However, we could say 'Big Joey would be smart not TO show his face around here.'
1 would better: 'Would better' is not a valid grammatical construction.
2 would be smart: This is the best choice here because it is the only grammatically correct construction which agrees with the infinitive verb 'to leave'.
2 had better: 'Had better' cannot be followed by the full infinitive 'to leave'.
2 would better: 'Would better' is not a valid grammatical construction.
Exercise 3
Identify the form of the contractions used in the following sentences:
He'd better think again before coming around my neighborhood. 'He'd = '
I'd have been there for the party, if your mother hadn't kept me waiting. 'I'd = '
I'd already finished cooking by the time the clowns showed up for dinner. 'I'd = '
He'd better think again before coming around my neighborhood. 'He'd = '
I'd have been there for the party, if your mother hadn't kept me waiting. 'I'd = '
I'd already finished cooking by the time the clowns showed up for dinner. 'I'd = '
Identify the form of the contractions used in the following sentences:
He'd better think again before coming around my neighborhood. 'He'd = He had 1'
I'd have been there for the party, if your mother hadn't kept me waiting. 'I'd = I would 2'
I'd already finished cooking by the time the clowns showed up for dinner. 'I'd = I had 3'
He'd better think again before coming around my neighborhood. 'He'd = He had 1'
I'd have been there for the party, if your mother hadn't kept me waiting. 'I'd = I would 2'
I'd already finished cooking by the time the clowns showed up for dinner. 'I'd = I had 3'
1 He had: This is the best choice here. The expression being used in this sentence is 'He had better', which is synonymous with 'He ought to' or 'He should', all of these constructions express a conditional sentiment that someone 'should' act in a certain way.
1 He would: 'He would better' is grammatically incorrect.
1 He should: We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'should'. We could say, however: 'He should think again...'.
1 He did: We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'do'.
2 I would: This is the best choice here. 'I would have been there for the party' expresses a conditional statement that is dependant upon the second clause of the sentence ('if your mother hadn't kept me waiting').
2 I should: We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'should'.
2 I could: We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'could'.
2 I had: Because the second clause of the sentence is introduced by 'if', we are forming a conditional sentence. Therefore, we cannot use 'had' here because it does not express the conditional.
3 I had: This is the best choice here. 'I had already finished' is a normal use of the past perfect (auxiliary 'have' conjugated in the past tense + the past participle). We know that we need to use the past perfect because the second verb (showed up) is in the past simple form.
3 I would: 'I would finished' is grammatically incorrect. We do not use the auxiliary 'would' directly followed by the past participle.
3 I should: We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'should'.
3 I did: We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'do'.
Exercise 4
Icarus: We get going before it starts to rain.
Luna: But rain brings life. like to jump in puddles with me?
Icarus: But there's a thirteen percent chance I'll slip and break my leg.
Luna: You to learn how to live a little, Icarus.
* puddles are small pools of water which are formed from rain or snow.
Luna: But rain brings life. like to jump in puddles with me?
Icarus: But there's a thirteen percent chance I'll slip and break my leg.
Luna: You to learn how to live a little, Icarus.
* puddles are small pools of water which are formed from rain or snow.
Icarus: We had better 1 get going before it starts to rain.
Luna: But rain brings life. Wouldn't you 2 like to jump in puddles with me?
Icarus: But there's a thirteen percent chance I'll slip and break my leg.
Luna: You need 3 to learn how to live a little, Icarus.
* puddles are small pools of water which are formed from rain or snow.
Luna: But rain brings life. Wouldn't you 2 like to jump in puddles with me?
Icarus: But there's a thirteen percent chance I'll slip and break my leg.
Luna: You need 3 to learn how to live a little, Icarus.
* puddles are small pools of water which are formed from rain or snow.
1 had better: This is the best choice here. The expression being used in this sentence is 'We had better', which is synonymous with 'We ought to' or 'We should', all of which express a conditional sentiment that someone 'should' act in a certain way. Icarus is strongly suggesting that they get going before they get wet in the rain.
1 would be best: 'We would be best get going' is grammatically incorrect. 'Would be best' is not often used with a human subject. We could say, however: 'It would be best if we got going before the rain started'.
1 should better: 'Should better' is not a valid grammatical construction, though it is sometimes used in slang or in local dialects. 'Should' on its own is better! In a different context, we might say, 'They should better serve their employees'. However, in this context, 'better' is an adverb that modifies the verb 'to serve' (= they should serve their employees in a better way).
1 need: We cannot use 'need' in a construction such as this without the full infinitive 'to get going'. For example: 'We need to get going'.
2 Wouldn't you: 'Would' best expresses Luna's question in this example. She uses negative inversion (Wouldn't you) to provoke an affirmative reply. 'Puddles' are small pools of water that you find on the street after a rain storm, children like to jump in them.
2 Hadn't you better: We never use the expression 'had better' in the negative form, nor do we use it in an inverted form to ask a question.
2 Shouldn't you: 'Shouldn't you like' is grammatically awkward. We could say: 'Shouldn't you jump in puddles?' but this would have a different meaning than that expressed in the context of this dialogue.
3 need: This is the best choice here. 'You need to do something' is quite a common expression in English, which 'strongly suggests' or 'commands' someone to do something. Luna is telling Icarus that he does not take enough risks.
3 had better: We cannot use 'had better' followed by the full infinitive 'to learn'. We could say, however: 'You had better learn how to live a little'.
3 would be best: 'You would be best to learn how to live a little' is grammatically incorrect. 'Would be best' is not often used with a human subject. We could say, however: 'It would be best if you learned how to live a little', but this is still rather awkward.
Exercise 5
Identify the full form of the contractions used in the following sentences:
Here come the police Icarus, you'd better run! You'd=
You'd do well to shut your eyes and go to sleep.You'd=
If I knew what I know now, I'd have never joined the army. I'd=
They'd better find some money quickly if they're going to pay Harry by tomorrow. They'd=
Here come the police Icarus, you'd better run! You'd=
You'd do well to shut your eyes and go to sleep.You'd=
If I knew what I know now, I'd have never joined the army. I'd=
They'd better find some money quickly if they're going to pay Harry by tomorrow. They'd=
Identify the full form of the contractions used in the following sentences:
Here come the police Icarus, you'd better run! You'd= You had 1
You'd do well to shut your eyes and go to sleep.You'd= You would 2
If I knew what I know now, I'd have never joined the army. I'd= I would 3
They'd better find some money quickly if they're going to pay Harry by tomorrow. They'd= They had 4
Here come the police Icarus, you'd better run! You'd= You had 1
You'd do well to shut your eyes and go to sleep.You'd= You would 2
If I knew what I know now, I'd have never joined the army. I'd= I would 3
They'd better find some money quickly if they're going to pay Harry by tomorrow. They'd= They had 4
1 You had: This is correct. 'Had better' is used to express a recommendation or strong suggestion. 'Here come the police Icarus, you had better run' is synonymous with 'You ought to run' or 'You should run'. The 'had better' construction is always followed by a verb in its infinitive form without 'to' (you had better run).
1 You should: This is incorrect. We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'should' and a subject pronoun. We could say however, 'Here come the police Icarus, you should run!'. Note that the 'had better' construction expresses a similar meaning as 'you should run'.
1 You could: This is incorrect. We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'could' and a subject pronoun. 'Could' is generally used to express capacity, or in conditional and subjunctive constructions.
1 You would: This is incorrect. 'Here come the police Icarus, you would better run' is grammatically incorrect. 'Would' is generally used to form the conditional tense.
2 You would: 'You would do well to shut your eyes and go to sleep' is synonymous with 'I recommend that you shut your eyes and go to sleep'. It is a recommendation or suggestion. Any verb that follows the contraction of 'would' must be put in the infinitive form (without 'to'). For example, 'you'd FEEL better if you slept'.
2 You had: The contraction 'you had' cannot be followed by 'do well'. Contractions of 'you had' are generally followed by the past participle form of a verb. For example, 'You had DONE well on your exams until this semester'.
2 You should: Contractions cannot be formed with the auxiliary 'should' and a subject pronoun. However, we could say, 'You should shut your eyes now and go to sleep'.
2 You could: Contractions cannot be formed with the auxiliary 'could' and a subject pronoun. 'Could' is used to express capacity or capability. It is inappropriate here.
3 I would: 'Would' is used here to form the conditional tense. 'I would never have joined the army, IF I had known everything I know now'. The speaker is indicating that he is reconsidering his decision to join the army in retrospect.
3 I had: This is incorrect. The use of the term 'if' in this construction tells us that the conditional 'would' is needed. The construction 'I had have' cannot express the conditional.
3 I should: This is incorrect. We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'should' and a subject pronoun.
3 I could: This is incorrect. Contractions cannot be formed with the auxiliary 'could' and a subject pronoun. 'Could' is used to express capacity or capability. It is inappropriate here.
4 They had: This is the correct answer. 'Had better' is used to express a strong recommendation or suggestion. In this example, 'they had better find money' is synonymous with 'They should find money'.
4 They should: This is incorrect. We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'should' and a subject pronoun. We could say however, 'they should find money quickly if they are going to pay Harry back by tomorrow'.
4 They could: This is incorrect. We cannot form contractions with the auxiliary 'could' and a subject pronoun.
4 They would: This is incorrect. It is grammatically incorrect to say 'They would better find money fast if they are going to pay back Harry by tomorrow'. Contractions of 'they would' must be followed by the infinitive without 'to'. Example: 'They'd EAT everything IF their stomachs were big enough.
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