"You ought to have brought your own 6-pack to the party, shouldn't you?"
Since text-books say that Americans prefer "should" to "ought to" in negative sentences and in questions, can I use them in one sentence?
Last edited by ostap77; 29-Apr-2011 at 13:19.
"We ought to help them, shouldn’t we? (More natural than ought not we?)"
Learn English online - English Grammar - Modal auxiliary verb ought to
Would this be wrong?
I can't say that this would be wrong, but I certainly agree with bhai's comment in post 2; don't mix them. While the link you've posted finds this acceptable, I wouldn't mix them, though many AmE-speakers do. I find "ought not we" awkward , but as bhai says, "oughtn't we" is perfectly natural. As for AmE usage, you will surely hear "should" more often than "ought to."