We‘d better go back and try and save them.
In the example above, the ‘idiomatic’ modal verb phrase “‘d better go” is used to express a strong recommendation or necessity. The phrase is formed by contracting “had” to “‘d” and combining it with “better” and the base form, in this case, “go”. This phrase is often used in spoken English to give advice or make recommendations in a similar way to ‘should’. In general, “had better” is used when there is a greater sense of urgency or importance than “should.” It is also used when the speaker is trying to persuade the listener to take action. “Should” is used when the speaker is simply giving advice or making a suggestion.
Here is an uncontracted example:
You had better get out of this room and back downstairs right away.
The sentence above is a strong warning or suggestion that the listener should leave the room immediately. The speaker is implying that there is danger or something wrong in the room and that the listener should not stay there.
Note that, in informal speech, particularly in American English, the “had” is often dropped:
We better get going before your brother starts a search party.
Surprisingly, there is no entry in the English Grammar Profile for the phrase ‘had better’. In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘had better‘ with the meaning ‘should’ is listed at A2. In Pearson’s Toolkit GSE 56 B1+
‘had better’ ‘had/’d better (not)’ + verb
for strong advice and recommendations.
A search for collocates in COCA for:
had better_RRR
1 START 82
2 PREPARED 59
You had better be prepared to push yourself harder than ever.
Chicago Sun-Times
3 WATCH 52
4 READY 47
5 CAREFUL 32
6 LEARN 31
7 DECIDED 30
I decided I had better get out of there.
Saturday Evening Post
8 HURRY 28
9 WAKE 28
10 SKILLS 19
11 LISTENING 16
12 TASTE 15
13 PREPARE 14
14 PRAY 13
15 RETHINK 6
A search for phrases with “better” in PlayPhrase.me, shows that the contracted form of ‘had’ is much more common in speaking:
you’d better get (207)
I think you’d better (160)
you’ll feel better (128)
well you’d better (86)
we’d better go (77)
you’d better come (70)
you got a better idea (59)
you’d better take (53)
we better get going (53)
I’ve got a better idea (51)
it’ll make you feel better (40)
make the world a better place (36)
I’d better get back (35)
I think I’d better go (29)
I’d better get going (27)
well I’d better get (26)
I’m feeling much better (23)
supposed to make me feel better (23)
we’d better get going (23)
think you’d better go (22)
well I guess I’d better (21)