student asking question

What is "oughta"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Oughta" is an informal contraction of the phrase "ought to", which means "should". In this case, they use the expression "that oughta done it". This is grammatically incorrect and the usual phrase should be "that oughta do it". This means that should do it or that should be enough. Here's some examples of "oughta": Ex: We just need one more cup of flour and then that oughta do it! Ex: You oughta give your mom a call. She hasn't heard from you in a while. Ex: I oughta buy some shoes like those, they are really nice!

Popular Q&As

03/23

Complete the expression with a quiz!