Aught vs. Ought

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oursilverstrands
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Aught vs. Ought

Post by oursilverstrands »

Jan, my computer accepts this:

Accepting the Christ-life is easy, living as a Christian aught is not.

But it does not accept this:

Accepting the Christ-life is easy, living as a Christian ought is not.

It insists on this:

Accepting the Christ-life is easy, living as a Christian ought to be is not.

Any reason, or is it just computer correctness gone wild?


Thanks,

Lillian
When Youth Fades
Available at: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=when+youth+f ... nb_sb_noss/

Fortunate 500


I have a love affair with words. I write, even when I think I can't. I'm hooked on words!

"Let words bewitch you. Scrutinze them, mull them, savor them, and in combination, until you see their subtle differences and the ways they tint each other." Francis Flaherty
glorybee
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Re: Aught vs. Ought

Post by glorybee »

Your computer is ridiculous!

"Aught" can mean 'anything' or 'zero' (!), but it isn't anywhere close in meaning to "ought," which means 'should."

And its suggestion of adding 'to be' to your second sentence is awkward at best. I could go along with just the addition of 'to' after 'ought,' but even that's not strictly necessary; your sentence is fine without it.''

This is why most computer suggestions should be examined carefully, and then (usually) discarded.
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