Using better by itself is fine in an informal context, and "had better" is only required for formal contexts. And I don't think a meme on the internet counts as a formal context.

And also, 🤓☝️

[–] OfCourseNot@fedia.io 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (6 children)

That'd be a contraction of 'would' in this case, wouldn't it? As an ESL speaker I used to find these grammar 'mistakes' (for lack of a better word) made more difficult for me to parse the sentences. As with code 'written once but read many times' would apply here.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 points 3 months ago (2 children)

for lack of a better word

Usages of non-standard grammar.

This one poses me (ETL) no problem, but my brain always tilts when the natives mix subject/verb contractions (you're, it's, they're) with the possessives (your, its, their).

[–] OfCourseNot@fedia.io 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah maybe not even non-standard as much as non-formal in this case.

I wanted to mean 'different from what you learn in English class in school as a kid' so non-formal, non -standard, dialectal, slang, misspellings, same-sounding words...

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 points 3 months ago

That's all covered by "non-standard" - because the standard of a language dictates what's to be taken as informal/vulgar/archaic, dialectal, slang, different words or the same word, etc. And while there are exceptions most of the time when people learn a non-native language they learn the standard, in detriment of other varieties.

(Sorry for nerding out about this, I just love this sort of topic.)

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