Is the “hand't we” in “hadn't we better have a process?” grammatical?

Question

Is the above question correct? I am not sure if the use of the phrase "hadn't we better" is correct or not.

Answer 1

Perhaps I am off the mark, but I would suggest that a better way to express what you are trying to convey would be:

"Shouldn't we have a process?"

rather than

"Hadn't we better have a process?"

I believe both are acceptable, but the latter sounds a bit more like slang or a colloquial way of asking the question. Personally, I've used both, though I find that I use the "shouldn't" form more now than I used to. Matter of taste, perhaps?

Answer 2

Hadn't we better is about strong opinions,

Hadn't you better ask him first?

You had better ask him first. Had better: should ask him, The speaker wants you to seek his advice.

Had better meaning: ought to. don't omit the verb HAD:

We HAD BETTER go home.

Hope this helps you.

Answer 3

In UK English at least, it's absolutely fine and would be the usual question form of "we'd better have...".