student asking question

What does "I had better help" mean? Does "had + verb" have a special meaning?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Had better" is used to express that someone should do something. So "I had better help" in this case means "I should help". When writing, we always use "you had better", but in spoken English this is often shortened to "you'd better". "Had better" is more formal than the contracted forms "I'd better", "you'd better", "she'd better" or "he'd better". "Had + verb" is normally only seen through the expression "had better", so it does not really have a special meaning. Ex: You had better finish your chores before Mom gets home. Ex: I had better clean the house before the guests arrive.

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