BETTER


Meaning of BETTER in English

I

adverb

1

BAD : You better make sure you're not late again.

GOOD : You'd better make sure you're not late again.

BAD : My friends warned me that I should better be careful.

GOOD : My friends warned me that I had better be careful.

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had better (not) : 'If the phone rings again, you'd better answer it.' 'If it's a secret, you'd better not tell me.'

Note that had is usually shortened to d and sometimes may not be heard at all.

2

BAD : 'You'd better to hurry up,' she shouted.

GOOD : 'You'd better hurry up,' she shouted.

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had better (not) do sth (NOT to do ): 'You'd better not leave all that money on the table.'

3

BAD : Instead of using a dictionary all the time, you had better try to guess the meaning of the words.

GOOD : Instead of using a dictionary all the time, you should try to guess the meanings of the words.

BAD : If people want to be healthy, they had better be more careful about what they eat.

GOOD : If people want to be healthy, they should be more careful about what they eat.

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Had better is used in informal styles when you give someone strong advice about what to do in a particular situation. The situation usually exists at the moment of speaking and so there is usually a sense of urgency in the advice: 'You'd better hurry or you'll miss the bus.' 'You'd better ring your parents - just in case they're worrying about you.'

To give advice on a general situation or to say that one course of action is better than another one, use should, ought to or it would be better to: 'Parents should teach their children to be kind to animals.' 'Rather than complain and risk upsetting her, it would be better to say nothing.'

II

adjective

BAD : German cars are more expensive but they are more better.

GOOD : German cars are more expensive but they are better.

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good, better, best

Longman Common Errors English vocabulary.      Английский словарь распространенных ошибок Longman.