Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to ought
Participle:
Gerund: oughting
Cognates
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Indicative
Present
| I | ought |
| you | ought |
| he;she;it | ought |
| we | ought |
| you | ought |
| they | ought |
Perfect
Past
Pluperfect
Future
| I | will ought |
| you | will ought |
| he;she;it | will ought |
| we | will ought |
| you | will ought |
| they | will ought |
Future Perfect
| I | will have ought |
| you | will have ought |
| he;she;it | will have ought |
| we | will have ought |
| you | will have ought |
| they | will have ought |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | ought |
| you | ought |
| he;she;it | ought |
| we | ought |
| you | ought |
| they | ought |
Perfect
| I | have ought |
| you | have ought |
| he;she;it | have ought |
| we | have ought |
| you | have ought |
| they | have ought |
Imperfect
| I | ought |
| you | ought |
| he;she;it | ought |
| we | ought |
| you | ought |
| they | ought |
Pluperfect
| I | had ought |
| you | had ought |
| he;she;it | had ought |
| we | had ought |
| you | had ought |
| they | had ought |
Conditional
Present
| I | would ought |
| you | would ought |
| he;she;it | would ought |
| we | would ought |
| you | would ought |
| they | would ought |
Perfect
| I | would have ought |
| you | would have ought |
| he;she;it | would have ought |
| we | would have ought |
| you | would have ought |
| they | would have ought |
Imperative
| you | ought |
| we | Let's ought |
| you | ought |
Verbs similar to 'ought'
aught,
nought,
cough,
dight,
dough,
fight,
hight,
hough,
light,
night,
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. O.E. ahte, pt. of agan "to own, possess, owe" (see owe). As a past tense of owe, it shared in that word's evolution and meant at times in M.E. "possessed" and "under obligation to pay." It has been detached from owe since 17c., though he aught me ten pounds is recorded as active in E.Anglian dialect from c.1825. As an auxiliary verb expressing duty or obligation (c.1175, the main modern use), it represents the past subjunctive.
2. From Middle English oughte, aughte, aȝte, ahte, from Old English āhte, first and third person singular past tense of Old English āgan (“to own, possess”), equivalent to owe + -t.
3. Cognate with Sanskrit ईश्वर (īśvará, “capable of, liable”).
Sample Sentences
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I ought to vote in the coming election.
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You ought to always stand back from the edge of the platform.
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Do you think we ought to leave now?
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He ought to read the book; it was very good.
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We ought to arrive by noon if we take the motorway, shouldn't we?
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My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price. [1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:]