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tchrist ♦
tchrist ♦
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Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around - in the fact that to is almost always there to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statements. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obligation, it is otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in non-fiction writing of all kinds, everywhere Pam Peters writes in the world. (Pam Peters, TheThe Cambridge Guide to English Usage, 2004 (2004):

Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around — in the fact that to is almost always there to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statements. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obligation, it is otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in non-fiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world.

Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around - in the fact that to is almost always there to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statements. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obligation, it is otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in non-fiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, 2004)

Pam Peters writes in The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2004):

Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around — in the fact that to is almost always there to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statements. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obligation, it is otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in non-fiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world.

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edit approved Jul 25, 2012 at 20:03
Paola
edit approved Jul 25, 2012 at 20:03
Paola
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Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around - in the fact that to is almost always therthere to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statementstatements. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obblogationobligation, it'sit is otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in nonfictionnon-fiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, 2004)

Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around - in the fact that to is almost always ther to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statement. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obblogation, it's otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in nonfiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, 2004)

Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around - in the fact that to is almost always there to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statements. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obligation, it is otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in non-fiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, 2004)

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user19148
user19148

Ought seems to have reached the end of an evolutionary phase in which it might have become a fully fledged modal. But the trappings of its older identity as a lexical verb have hung around - in the fact that to is almost always ther to link it with the following verb, and in the use of do support in negative statement. So while ought still works affirmatively as a marginal modal expressing obblogation, it's otherwise replaced by modals such as should and must in nonfiction writing of all kinds, everywhere in the world. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, 2004)