behove
/bi'hu:v,/ Cách viết khác : (behove) /bi'houv/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To be necessary, proper, or advantageous for: Used impersonally to indicate that something is a duty, responsibility, or a fitting course of action for someone. It conveys a sense of moral or social obligation, often in a formal or literary context.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- It behooves a student to complete all assignments on time.
- It behooves us to consider the environmental impact of our actions.
- It behooved the manager to address the team's concerns promptly.
Advanced Usage
- "It ill behooves (someone) to...": It is not proper or fitting for someone to do something.
- It ill behooves a leader to ignore the advice of experienced counselors.
- The verb is almost exclusively used in the impersonal construction "It behooves [someone] to [do something]". The subject is the dummy pronoun "it".
Variants and Related Words
- Behoove (verb): The standard spelling in American English.
- It behooves you to read the instructions carefully.
- Behoveful (adjective, archaic): Necessary, useful, or profitable.
- Behooving (present participle/gerund): The act of being necessary or proper.
Synonyms
- Be incumbent upon: To be necessary as a duty.
- Befit: To be suitable or appropriate for.
- Be proper for: To be correct or fitting.
Related Phrases
- As behooves: In a manner that is proper or fitting.
- He acted as behooves a person in his position, with great discretion.
Notes on Usage
- Formality: "Behove" is a formal, literary verb. In everyday modern English, phrases like "should," "ought to," "it is advisable for," or "it is necessary for" are more common.
- Impersonal Construction: The verb is not used with a personal subject (e.g., "I behoove" is incorrect). The correct structure is always: It + behooves + object (person/group) + infinitive clause.
- Spelling: "Behove" (with 'v') is the standard spelling in British and Commonwealth English. "Behoove" (with 'v' and 'e') is standard in American English.
Verb
- be appropriate or necessary
- It behooves us to reflect on this matter