Learn English: How to use I'D BETTER & I'D BETTER NOT

Hello.

My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to teach you a very common and important

expression we use in English, and that expression is: "I'd better"; or in the negative form:

"I'd better not".

So we use this expression a lot.

But before I teach you how to use this expression, I'm going to give you an example to help you

understand when we use this expression.

Okay, so let's get started.

So I have here my friend Jack, and you'll notice Jack is a little confused.

He has a whole bunch of question marks around his head, because he's thinking.

So, what is Jack thinking about?

Well, Jack has a test at 8am, and he's nervous about his test, and so he's wondering: "What

should I do?"

That's what Jack is thinking.

So I want you to think about: What should Jack do in this situation?

He has a test at 8am.

Should he go to bed early?

Should he party all night?

Or should he watch TV all night?

What do you think?

And he really wants to do well on his test.

Well, hopefully, you know, you said the first one: Jack should go to bed early.

So this is when we would use the expression: "I'd better".

We would use it in this case.

And what does it mean?

We use: "I'd better" when we want to talk about something that's a good idea to do;

and if we don't do it, there might be a problem.

Okay?

So, for example: "I'd better go to bed early."

This is something Jack would say, because going to bed early is a good idea.

He has a test to study for...

Or, sorry.

He has a test the next day, so it's very important that he goes to bed early.

Okay?

So let's make this into an expression Jack can say.

"I'd better", and then we put the verb, which is the action or the good idea.

So, in Jack's case, Jack would say: "I'd better go to bed.

I'd better go to bed."

So, now let's look at more examples of the expression: "I'd better".

Okay, so you might be wondering: What does "I'd better" stand for?

If you actually break up the "I'd", because "I'd" is a contraction, it stands for: "I

had better".

But usually when we use: "I'd better", we don't usually use it with the word "had";

we usually use it in conversation with the contraction.

And so, the way we pronounce that is: "I'd better".

So let's look at some examples with this expression.

Okay, so I want you to imagine it's going to rain later today.

What's a good idea?

If it's going to rain, a good idea is to bring an umbrella.

So, we can use this expression to talk about this good idea.

"I'd better bring an umbrella today because it's going to rain."

Okay?

If I don't bring an umbrella, I'm going to get wet.

So this is a good idea; and if I don't do it, something bad is probably going to happen

- I'll get wet.

So let's look at another example.

"I'd better leave my house earlier because I don't want to be late."

So maybe there's a meeting or a job interview, and you're thinking: "Oh, I need to get to

work early", or: "I need to get to this job interview early."

That's a good idea.

A good idea is to leave my house early.

So, because we're talking about a good idea, we say: "I'd better leave my house earlier

than normal."

If I don't leave my house early, maybe there will be problems getting to the interview;

maybe I'll be late.

Okay?

So we often use "I'd better" when we're talking about a good idea; and if we don't do this

good idea, there can be a problem.

This is a very common thing you'll hear people say: "It's late", okay?

Meaning it's late at night.

You're at somebody's house: "It's late.

I'd better go."

Okay?

So, I think this is actually probably the most common way we use this expression.

You'll see it all the time in movies; somebody often says: "It's late.

I'd better go."

And then another example: "My friends are coming over."

Okay?

So, what's the good idea?

Your friends are coming over.

It's usually good to buy some food, maybe some drinks, so: "I'd better buy some food."

Okay?

So that's a good idea.

If I don't buy food, my friends will be hungry.

I just wanted to point out one thing.

You'll notice after: "I'd better", it's the same in each sentence: "I'd better", "I'd

better", "I'd better", "I'd better"...

What comes right after the word "I'd better"...?

Or, sorry.

The expression is the verb.

So, in this case, we have the verb "buy"; in this case, we have the verb "go"; we have

the verb "leave"; and we have the verb "bring".

So it's important that after you use the expression: "I'd better", a verb comes.

So now let's look at some examples of the expression: "I'd better not".

Okay, so we've talked about: "I'd better" do something; we can also say: "I'd better

not" do something.

Okay?

So: "I'd", which also means "I had", but we say: "I'd".

"I'd better not".

So, what does this mean?

If you say: "I'd better not", this means that not doing something is a good idea.

So let's look at some examples so you can understand this.

Okay.

So, remember we were talking about Jack earlier, and Jack was thinking about going to the party,

and he has a test at 8am?

Well, Jack said: "I'd better study..."

Or, no.

"I'd better go to sleep early."

He can also talk about things that he's not going to do.

So, he could say: "I'd better not go to the party.", "I'd better not watch TV all night.",

"I'd better not drink too much beer before the test."

Okay?

So these are things when not doing it is a good idea.

So, again, the only difference here is we've now added the word "not".

"I'd better not", and then underlined in blue we have the verb.

"I'd better not go to the party.

I have to study."

And if you do do something, there usually is a problem or a consequence.

So: "I'd better not go to the study..."

Or: "...to the party".

If I go to the party maybe I won't have time to study.

Let's look at another example.

"I'd better not forget my girlfriend's birthday again."

Okay?

So this means that not forgetting is a good idea.

You want to remember her birthday.

"I'd better not forget my girlfriend's birthday again."

If I forget my girlfriend's birthday, she's going to be angry.

Okay?

And it's not going to be pleasant.

Here's another example: "We'd", so this time I'm talking about not just myself, but a group

of people.

"We'd better not eat all the pizza."

Okay?

So imagine there's a box of pizza, and you know, I've already eaten maybe two slices

and I'm thinking: "Oh, maybe I should eat two more."

Well, if I do that, maybe my stomach will hurt; maybe it's not a good idea to eat all

the pizza.

So what I can say is: "I'd" or "We'd", if we're talking about a group.

"We'd better not eat all the pizza.

We should save some for later."

Okay?

So, we use this expression a lot, especially when we're talking about ourselves, as in:

"I'd better"; or when we're talking about groups of people: "We'd better".

We can also use this in another sense, and that's when we're talking about a threat or

a warning.

Okay?

So this is very important.

We've talked about when we use it with "I'd" or with "We'd".

What about when we use it with: "You'd better", or "She'd better", or "He'd better"?

That has a little bit of a different meaning, and this is very important.

When you say: "You'd better", it makes it sound like a threat.

So this is, for example, something your parents might say to you.

Your parents might say, you know, depending on your age: "You'd better finish your homework."

If you don't finish your homework, there's going to be a problem.

"You'd better be home at 10pm."

If you're not home, you're going to be in trouble.

You might also have a boss who uses this expression.

Okay?

"You'd better give me the paperwork on time."

Okay?

"If you don't give me the paperwork, you'll be fired."

So when we say: "You'd better", it's a very strong expression and it usually is a warning

or a threat.

Same with: "She'd" or "He'd".

"She'd better be on time, or I'll be mad.", "He better not be late again."

Okay?

So we usually use this to warn that there's going to be a problem if we...

If we don't do something.

Okay, so we've learned a lot today; we've learned: "I'd better", "I'd better not", "You'd

better", and: "He'd" and "She'd better".

So, thank you for watching.

I hope you come visit us at www.engvid.com; there, you can take our quiz to practice everything

you've learned in this video and to make sure, you know, you understand what you've just

seen, as well as get more practice using this expression.

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So, thank you for watching; and until next time, take care.