Had better

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Tdol

Does anyone really understand this structure? To be honest, it escapes me.

It's pretty old, presumably like 'I'd rather', which derives not from would rather (which some people say nowadays) but from had rather: of two options, I gave more weight to one.

As to the negative, I prefer the version my son coined many years ago: I'd bettern't

[Tdol]

It'll probably catch on.

[ALI_E]

i want to know after had better the verb should be gerend or infinitive
which example is correct
example:I had better study , I had better to study, or I had better studying

[Tdol]

I had better study.

[matilda]

but finally, which one is the best answer to this question, dear moderator?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by matilda

but finally, which one is the best answer to this question, dear moderator?

Which question, Matilda? Tdol answered it, and his answer is unquestionably right: I had better study - no gerund, no 'to', a bare infinitive.

b

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Tdol

I had better study.

To answer your initial question, IMO, "had better" is a modal idiom. This is why we can't use the contraction "hadn't better".

[BobK]

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

... we can't use the contraction "hadn't better".

Well you all can't.

b

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by BobK

Well you all can't.

b

Do you?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

Do you?

I think so, though maybe it's a regional variant (northern ) - anyway, it's quite widespread now (perhaps because of the BBC's decision to allow newsreaders and continuity announcers to keep their regional accents).

b