HAD BETTER (Give specific advice)

Had better ('d better)
We use “had better” plus the infinitive without “to” to give advice. Although “had” is the past form of “have”, we use “had better” to give advice about the present or future.

La fórmula sería Had better + verbo sin to: "you'd better study" para dar consejo. Pero el consejo sería específico, ya que para consejos en general, usamos Should.

•You'd better tell her everything.

•I'd better get back to work.

•We'd better meet early.

The negative form is “had better not”. La forma negativa tampoco va seguida de to:
You'd better not walk over the snake" (mejor no camines encima de la serpiente.)
•You'd better not say anything.

•I'd better not come.

•We'd better not miss the start of his presentation.

We use “had better” to give advice about specific situations, not general ones. If you want to talk about general situations, you must use “should”.

•You should brush your teeth before you go to bed.

•I shouldn't listen to negative people.

•He should dress more appropriately for the office.

When we give advice about specific situations, it is also possible to use “should”.

•You shouldn't say anything.

•I should get back to work.

•We should meet early.

However, when we use “had better” there is a suggestion that if the advice is not followed, that something bad will happen.

Cuando usamos "had better " da la sensación de que el consejo no va a ser seguido por quien lo recibe o que algo malo pasará.

•You'd better do what I say or else you will get into trouble.

•I'd better get back to work or my boss will be angry with me.

•We'd better get to the airport by five or else we may miss the flight.


Online activities to practice grammar:

ACTIVITY ONE (MATCH SENTENCES)

ACTIVITY TWO (PUT IN ORDER)

ACTIVITY THREE (should  or  had better ? )

Singular nouns that refer to group of people agreement : The Government has or have?

The government have (or has?)

In English, we often use singular nouns that refer to groups of people (eg government, committee, team) as if they were plural. (This is less true in US English. )
This is because we often think of the group as people, doing things that people do (eating, wanting, feeling etc).
In such cases, we use:

- plural verb


- plural pronoun (they)


- who (not which)

Here are some examples:

- The committee want sandwiches for lunch. They aren't very hungry.


- My family, who don't see me often, have asked me home.


- The team hope to win next time.
 
Here are some examples of words and expressions that can be considered singular or plural:


choir, class, club, committee, company, family, government, jury, school, staff, team, union


the BBC, board of directors, the Conservative Party, Manchester United, the Ministry of Health

But when we consider the group as an impersonal unit, we use singular verbs and pronouns:

- The new company is the result of a merger.


- The average family consists of four people.


- The committee, which was formed in 1983, has ceased to exist.

Quatifiers: compounds nouns made with SOME and ANY ( Compuestos con some y any)

THE QUANTIFIERS: Compound nouns made with SOME, ANY and NO


FORM:
Some + -thing -body -one -where

Any +

No +

Compound nouns with some- and any- are used in the same way as some and any.

Positive statements:
•Someone is sleeping in my bed.

•He saw something in the garden.

•I left my glasses somewhere in the house.

Questions:
•Are you looking for someone? (= I'm sure you are)

•Have you lost something? (= I'm sure you have)

•Is there anything to eat? (real question)

•Did you go anywhere last night?

Negative statements:

•She didn't go anywhere last night.

•He doesn't know anybody here.

NOTICE that there is a difference in emphasis between nothing, nobody etc. and not ... anything, not ... anybody:

•I don't know anything about it. (= neutral, no emphasis)

•I know nothing about it (= more emphatic, maybe defensive)

More examples:

SOMETHING, SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE(algo, aguien, alguna parte)

a. I have something to tell you.

b. There is something to drink in the fridge.

c. He knows somebody in New York

d. Susie has somebody staying with her.

e. They want to go somewhere hot for their holidays.

f. Keith is looking for somewhere to live.

ANYBODY, ANYTHING, ANYWHERE (alguien, algo, algún lugar en ?; nadie, nada, ningún lugar en -)

a. Is there anybody who speaks English here?

b. Does anybody have the time?

c. Is there anything to eat?

d. Have you anything to say?

e. He doesn't have anything to stay tonight.

f. I wouldn't eat anything except at Maxim's.


NOBODY, NOTHING, NOWHERE (nadie, nada, ningún lugar)

a. There is nobody in the house at the moment

b. When I arrived there was nobody to meet me.

c. I have learnt nothing since I began the course.

d. There is nothing to eat.

e. There is nowhere as beautiful as Paris in the Spring.

f. Homeless people have nowhere to go at night.


ANY can also be used in positive statements to mean 'no matter which', 'no matter who', 'no matter what' (Any en oraciones afirmativas significa cualquiera) :
Examples:
a. You can borrow any of my books.

b. They can choose anything from the menu.

c. You may invite anybody to dinner, I don't mind.