Must, should, or ought to?

A womans place is in the bosom of her family; her thoughts ought seldom to emerge from
it.
The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany, Volume 97, 1825
Those nineteenth-century moralists! Can you imagine what todays world would have
been like if women such as Florence Nightingale, Emmeline Pankhurst, or Harriet
Beecher Stowe had confined their thoughts to family life? While the viewpoint behind it
may be outdated, this famous quotation is a neat way of illustrating one of the main uses
of ought, namely expressing the speakers view as to a correct or dutiful course of
action, often imbued with a tinge of social rectitude.
As you may know, ought is a special type of verb known as a modal verb: Ive covered
some of these already in earlier blogs. Id now like to turn my attention to a trio of
modals which share a similar range of meanings: must, ought, and should. All these
verbs can be used to talk about duty and obligation, to give advice or instructions, or to
express degrees of probability. Should can also be used in other ways, but as Im
endeavouring to keep this fairly brief, Ill save my discussion of conditional meanings
of should and the difference between should and would for another day. If youre avid for
all the information right this minute, you can find a full rundown of should here.
Lets explore the central meanings of must, should, and ought first, then well turn to
their similarities and differences, so as to help you use each verb in the most effective
and idiomatic way.

Must
We use must in three main ways:
to talk about something that has to be done because its compulsory or obligatory
(that is, its absolutely necessary to obey a rule, law, order, or instruction):
Online stores must give a cooling-off period of seven working days.
She was told that she must not discuss the case with third parties, including her MP.
or because its very important:
To calm public opinion, police must quickly arrest the culprits and solve this case.
I must get back to work: a deadline approaches.
to express the view that something is highly likely because its a logical conclusion
based on something else that the speaker knows, or its the normal thing to expect:
Our measurements show that exactly the opposite must be the case.
Her mega hairdo must have taken several cans of hairspray to achieve.
to say to someone that you strongly recommend or advise something because its a
good idea:
If you go to Barcelona, you must see the cathedral.
We get on well and keep saying we must meet up for lunch sometime.

Ought
We use ought in three main ways:
to express the view that something is the right thing to do, because its morally correct,
polite, or someones duty:
You ought to admit that you made a mistake.
They ought not to be allowed to damage property without paying compensation.
 to predict that something is fairly likely or expected, based on normal circumstances
or logic:
Our long-delayed mail is on the way from France and ought to arrive today.
The weather oughtnt to be cold in May.
to offer or ask for advice or recommendations:
If you havent read the book then you ought to see the movie.
What ought to be done to improve things?

Should
Here are the three main meanings of should:
to talk about what we think is the right or correct thing to do, especially from the point
of view of duty or appropriateness:
All employees should be provided with a proper job description.
Children shouldnt be allowed to watch too much TV.
to give or ask for advice or suggestions:
I told Kathy she should try to get some rest.
Can you recommend any exercises, or should I see a doctor?
to predict that something will probably happen or is expected to be the case, based on
logic or a typical situation:
My sisters on her way, she should be here soon.
By next month I should have enough money to buy a car.

Differences and similarities

We can compare and contrast must, ought, and should according to two categories:
meaning and grammar.

1. Meaning
As weve seen, we can use all three verbs to express broadly similar meanings: the main
distinctions between them are related to degrees of emphasis. Must is the most
emphatic: you use it when youre confident about a conclusion, or when you want to
stress that its very important for someone to follow your recommendations. You also
use must to refer to something thats required by a rule or law.
Unlike should and ought, must isnt used to make predictions:
According to the forecast, it should be warm tomorrow.
According to the forecast, it ought to be warm tomorrow.
X According to the forecast, it must be warm tomorrow.
Ought is less strong than must, and isnt used to talk about things that are compulsory. It
often carries with it slightly more forcefulness and more of a sense of moral obligation
or appropriateness than should.
The meanings of should that were addressing in this blog overlap with those of ought,
but should is much more common statistically. There are over 2 million instances
of should on the Oxford English Corpus, compared with around 71,000 occurrences
of ought. In particular, should is much more frequent in questions or negative
constructions than ought. Should is the least forceful of the trio: its mostly used to make
suggestions and more tentative predictions.
Compare the nuances of meaning in the following:
If you have a mole that starts to bleed, you must see a doctor. [its vital, as it could be
cancer]
The fat content of the cheese must not exceed 44%. [this is to obey a food regulation]
The object of the exercise was to prevent the public from seeing what they ought to
see. [its morally desirable that people knew]
I ought to eat more fruit and vegetables. [its a good idea and will make me healthier]
You should see the size of the crowds he plays in front of! [this is my opinion, but you
dont actually need to see the crowds for yourself]
I think I should go home. [Im considering this as an option]
Having said this, however, theres frequently little distinction in meaning
between ought and should, and indeed it is possible to have the same interpretation
using one or both alternatives. Should is more common in questions, especially in daily
conversation: ought sounds rather formal when used interrogatively. Additionally,
speakers of North American English tend to use should rather than ought when
expressing a negative idea (we shouldnt turn away from such opportunities rather
than we oughtnt to turn away from such opportunities).

2. Grammar
2.1 Tenses
You can form the past tense of should and ought by using have and the past participle of
the main verb. We can use this construction to talk about things which were supposed
to have been done or have happened (but didnt) or to speculate about things which
were not sure about in the past:
They should have done more research.
I ought to have left here by 3.30.
Surely they should have got home by midnight.
You also form the past of must with have plus the past participle of a main verb. You can
use must have to express certainty about something in the past, based on logic or
normal expectations:
From the evidence of his pupils, he must have been a good teacher.
However, you cant use must have to talk about something important that should have
occurred in the past or something compulsory. If you say:
They must have done more research.
it doesnt mean they were supposed to have done more research but didnt; it means
that the speaker is sure that they had carried out more research in order to get to the
situation theyre now in.
2.2 Infinitives
Ought is unlike most other modals, because we always use the infinitive to when we use
it with a main verb. You shouldnt say:
X I ought eat less meat.
X Ought we visit her soon?
X You ought not miss this play.
You need to use to:
I ought to eat less meat.
Ought we to visit her soon?
You ought not to miss this play.
The only case where you dont have to accompany ought with to is if there is no other
main verb in the sentence or clause:
Say what you have to say, not what you ought.
We should file that under Educational too, oughtnt we?
With should and must, the infinitive to isnt used:
X I should to leave now.
X She mustnt to discuss the case with anyone.
I should leave now.
She mustnt discuss the case with anyone.
The above should have helped to clarify these three verbs; you ought now to know how
to use them; I must stop writing immediately!