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English Grammar Profiler
English Grammar Profiler

CEFR text analysis tool

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English Grammar Profiler
English Grammar Profiler

CEFR text analysis tool

OUGHT (negative OR questions)

advice, C2, GSE, infinitive, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, obligation, QUESTIONS, suggestion

There are three negative points in the English Grammar Profile at C2 Modality that are quite rare.

Point 215 is defined as:

negative form ‘ought not to’

Point 226:

CONTRACTED NEGATIVE ‘oughtn’t’ (without ‘to’) + verb

Point 235

‘ought’ + subject + ‘not to’ + verb to form (rhetorical) questions, often in formal contexts.

*Point 35 in the category of QUESTIONS yes/no is also C2 with uncontracted ‘not’ to emphasise a point in an argument.


However, there is no allowance in the EGP for a question using ‘ought’ that is not negative.  We will then refer to another source: Pearson’s GSE 62 B2 

‘ought(n’t) to’ to offer or ask for advice or suggestions.


A search in iWeb:

ought not to *

1 OUGHT NOT TO BE 4793
2 OUGHT NOT TO HAVE 1055
3 OUGHT NOT TO DO 297
4 OUGHT NOT TO TAKE 126
5 OUGHT NOT TO MAKE 104
6 OUGHT NOT TO GO 76
7 OUGHT NOT TO THINK 76
8 OUGHT NOT TO SAY 71
9 OUGHT NOT TO GIVE 68

10 OUGHT NOT TO EXPECT 59

We ought not to expect perfection from anyone.

This sentence means that we should not expect people to be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, and we should be understanding and forgiving when people do not meet our expectations.

The phrase “ought not to expect” is used to express an expectation that is not likely to be met. It is a way of saying that we should not have unrealistic expectations of people or things.

Here are some other examples of how the phrase “ought not to expect” can be used:

    • You ought not to expect to get rich quick.
    • We ought not to expect the government to solve all of our problems.
    • I ought not to expect her to understand my feelings.

11 OUGHT NOT TO FORGET 59
12 OUGHT NOT TO USE 52

13 OUGHT NOT TO EXIST 51

14 OUGHT NOT TO BELIEVE 45
15 OUGHT NOT TO FEEL 43
16 OUGHT NOT TO PASS 43

17 OUGHT NOT TO SUFFER 41

  The Statesman
The arts ought not to suffer, not the least in Bengal. At stake is the freedom of creative expression and aesthetics.
Feb 21, 2019

*The below versions are so rare for native speakers.

There are only two examples of ‘oughtn’t‘ in the whole TED corpus.  Here’s one of them:

And people like us want to do things that destroy plants, and their habitats.
And whether that‘s because of food production, 

or because of the introduction of alien plants into places that they really oughtn’t be,

 or because of habitats being used for other purposes 

— all these things are meaning that plants have to adapt, or die, or move.

TED

Here’s an iWeb cluster search for ought n't * *

1 OUGHTN’T TO BE 46
2 OUGHTN’T TO HAVE 26

iWeb cluster search for ought n't _v

1 OUGHTN’T BE 32

  USA TODAY
Lillian is a bit of a pariah too, though she oughtn’t be.
Oct 29, 2019
  KCBS
Answering Your Questions On Distance Learning At Home
So we oughtn’t be surprised when they are devastated at the loss of these milestones that we have set up as the be-all and end-all reason for …
Apr 6, 2020
2 OUGHTN’T HAVE 14

Here we look for a subject between ‘ought’ and ‘not’:

1 OUGHT IT NOT TO BE 18

  The New Yorker
“Ought it not to be a fixed rule of the Times to have its editorial writers not form a conclusion, or at least write a comment on a decision of the Supreme Court, before reading the full text of the opinions which give rise to the comment?” Justice Frankfurter wrote from Washington.
Dec 3, 2014

2 OUGHT HE NOT TO HAVE 15
3 OUGHT WE NOT TO BE 14
4 OUGHT IT NOT TO ENFORCE 10

Virtue Online
.Yet, as it ought not to decree anything against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce anything to be believed for necessity of Salvation.
Nov 28, 2015

5 OUGHT WE NOT TO DO 10

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