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I am writing to seek clarification on the structure of two specific auxiliaries: "ought" and "used."

  1. Modal auxiliary: "ought"
  2. Marginal auxiliary: "used"

I have encountered some confusion regarding the following constructions:

  • "used + infinitive with to"
  • "ought + infinitive with to"

OR

  • "used to + infinitive without to"
  • "ought to + infinitive without to"

I would greatly appreciate any insights or explanations you can provide to clarify these structures.

KillingTime
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KesariSir
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    A bit of both! This"use" is always followed by a to-infinitival clause, while "ought" is usually (but not always) followed by a to-infinitival clause. The bare infinitival is marginal (found mainly in AmE) and occurs in non-affirmative contexts (particularly negatives) as in Ought we invite them both? – BillJ Mar 16 '24 at 11:14
  • If you're asking whether you need the "infinitive marker" *to* in contexts like "I ought to go now", that linked usage chart should make it clear you really ought o include it. I very rarely encounter the bare infinitive after *ought* in any text less than a century old, and I've never encountered anything like "We used go fishing on Sundays" without *to*. – FumbleFingers Mar 16 '24 at 11:49
  • @BillJ: This looks like an ELL question to me. Given how uncommon the "bare infinitive" is even in constructions like Ought we migrate this to ELL? (AmE only; effectively non-existent in BrE), I don't think learners really need to know that it's even a possibility. – FumbleFingers Mar 16 '24 at 11:55
  • You should try and be more specific what your question is. Asking for "any insights or explanations" is far too vague, and will get downvotes and close votes. What do you need to be clarified? Maybe post a sentence you are unsure about. – Stuart F Mar 16 '24 at 13:29
  • @FumbleFingers That's only because you are in the UK not the US. You shouldna outta been making so many generalizations. :) – tchrist Mar 16 '24 at 13:29
  • Remember that use(d) to has phonemic changes akin to those of have to: /ˈjustə/ works like /ˈhæftə/ in devoicing and stress. Notice also how in all the most careful speech, ought to is invariably a flapped /ˈɔɾə/ somewhat as though it were awed a. – tchrist Mar 16 '24 at 13:37

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