"I should go" and "I ought to go"

Question

What is the difference (if any) between "I should go," and "I ought to go"?

Answer 1

In the past auxiliary verbs such as 'shall' and 'ought' were very common in day-to-day use and writing and had different meanings compared to 'will' and 'ought' but now that's no longer the case.

As time progresses and English continues to become more simplified, these verbs end up becoming archaic and are used less commonly compared to their other counterparts such as 'might', 'could', 'will', etc. The result is that in modern times, 'shall' ends up meaning the same as 'will' and 'should' ends up meaning the same as 'ought to'

Here's Merriam-Webster's take on these two words

should: —used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expediency -> "you should brush your teeth after each meal"

ought: —used to express obligation -> "ought to pay our debts" , advisability -> "ought to take care of yourself" , natural expectation -> "ought to be here by now" , or logical consequence -> "the result ought to be infinity"

Notice how you can interchange "ought to" with should and the meaning of the sentences don't change...

Answer 2

They're pretty much interchangeable in meaning. "Ought to" gives a little more of a vibe of an outside obligation than self-imposed (but no hard rule) and feels a little stronger, "should" sounds equally natural for both.

In terms of frequency, "should" is more common.

Answer 3

"Should" means that it would be better if you do, and "ought to" means that its time for something.