I was born in Poland and I cannot pronounce 'CZ'

"I oughtn't GO", for example, without "to" is perfectly correct and accepted standard English in the States, Dominic:-) Hate to disappoint youLOL

Now, "I ought TO...." in the affirmative MUST have "to", as "I ought go" is clearly substandard British, American, Canadian etc..

Foreigners aka non-native English speakers will often use/say "I oughtn't to go....", but it's not natural usage, as an English teacher, you can trust me on this one.

That's exactly what I said. It's perfectly correct and standard on both sides of the Atlantic, as is the form with "to".


It's perfectly standard, too, and not a non-native mistake. Again, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The difference across the Atlantic is that Americans are much less likely to use "oughtn't" at all, with or without "to". "Shouldn't" is far, far more common.

oughta is definitely in my (southern) variety of US english (as I metnioned before), I think the most natural negative form is probably "ought no to" but pronounced "ought notta" (oughta and notta rhyme in my pronunciation).

Can we now get back to the CZ sound as per title

@mafketis

There's no problem with "ought to" in positive statements. In negatives and questions, though, it is usually replaced by "should" in the US, though you will hear "ought not" and "oughtn't", both with and without "to", occasionally, from some speakers. The most common negative to "ought" is, by far, "shouldn't".