Had Better
We use “had better” plus the infinitive without “to” to give advice. Although “had” is the past form of “have”, we use “had better” to give advice about the present or future.
· You'd better tell her everything.
· I'd better get back to work.
· We'd better meet early.
The negative form is “had better not”.
· You'd better not say anything.
· I'd better not come.
We use “had better” to give advice about specific situations, not general ones. If you want to talk about general situations, you must use “should”.
· I shouldn't listen to negative people.
When we give advice about specific situations, it is also possible to use “should”.
· You shouldn't say anything.
However, when we use “had better” there is a suggestion that if the advice is not followed, that something bad will happen.
· You'd better do what I say or else you will get into trouble.