Frank Antonson
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- United States
- Current Location
- United States
I dreamed that I was in a restaurant and said to someone, "You better would." A Texan, judging by his hat, was leaving; and before the door completely closed, I heard him snicker to a companion about having heard "You better would." In my dream I was so angry that I shouted after him, "What's wrong with that?" and then "You should learn to talk like that!" I was ready to fight it out with fists -- over the fact that he would disparage my speech. This was a dream. But, I have to wonder what it says about my attitude toward language in general and my dialect in particular.
But, at a more universal level, I would like to know if anybody reading this forum can relate to the expression "You better would." It pretty clearly is a version of "You had better". "Had better" could be regarded as a forgotten helping verb -- a periphrastic version of "should". But something interesting about "You better would" is that it is never followed by a main verb -- only an understood main verb. I would never say "You better would eat.".
My wife has suggested that it may be a vestige of a former use of "substandard" English for emphasis -- much like "Say it ain't so!", spoken by an intellectual for cuteness. In any case, at present I am not sure how to Reed-Kellogg it. I guess it is a simple subject followed by a helping verb with an understood main verb.
Forum, you may be able to have fun with this. You better would.
But, at a more universal level, I would like to know if anybody reading this forum can relate to the expression "You better would." It pretty clearly is a version of "You had better". "Had better" could be regarded as a forgotten helping verb -- a periphrastic version of "should". But something interesting about "You better would" is that it is never followed by a main verb -- only an understood main verb. I would never say "You better would eat.".
My wife has suggested that it may be a vestige of a former use of "substandard" English for emphasis -- much like "Say it ain't so!", spoken by an intellectual for cuteness. In any case, at present I am not sure how to Reed-Kellogg it. I guess it is a simple subject followed by a helping verb with an understood main verb.
Forum, you may be able to have fun with this. You better would.