The world better have strong leader
The world better has strong leader
What's the correct way?
- The first one("have") sounds me the correct, but I can't explain why.
- The world = it, therefore I wonder if it should be "has".
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A single leader, or more than one? – Nathan Tuggy Apr 15 '17 at 9:36
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Hey @Nathan Tuggy. A single leader – Moyshe Zuchmir Apr 15 '17 at 10:02
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The world should better have a strong leader. This is about the future, you can't use Present Simple here. Consider: You better do your homework. And You better did your homework (incorrect). – SovereignSun Apr 15 '17 at 10:14
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I think this is a colloquial version of "had better", that why "have" sounds better. But I think neither of your sentences is idiomatic. And you have to say "a strong leader". – user178049 Apr 15 '17 at 10:51
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@user178049 right on spot! – M.A.R. Apr 15 '17 at 12:40
If you're looking for an idiomatic version, neither, but your first option is closer to being grammatical.
You should use, and maybe unintentionally are using "had better".
"had better" is what Quirk et al. call a modal idiom. I checked, and CamGEL considers it as idiom-like as well. That means it's normally colloquially fixed and you don't usually see different inflections, such as has better, unless perhaps for humorous effect.
So the grammatical sentence is
The world had better have a strong leader.
However, it's also common in informal registers for the had to be dropped, resulting in
The world better have a strong leader.
As a side note, your main verb, have, sounds a bit odd. Consider if "find" would be more appropriate for your sentence.
c.f.
You better run!
