HAVE TO, DON’T HAVE TO, MUST, MUSTN’T

 We use both must and have to to express obligation or necessity, but there is sometimes a
difference between them.

You must be home at 10 o’clock. I have to

be home by 10 o’clock.
We normally use when the authority comes We normally use have to when the authority comes
from the speaker. from outside the speaker.
You must be home by 10 o'clock. (I insist.) I have to be home by 10 o'clock. (My parents insist.)
I have got a terrible pain in my back. I must I have to go and see the doctor at 9.00 tomorrow
go and see the doctor. (I think it is necessary) morning. (I have got an appointment.)
You must drive carefully.(That is the law.) You have to drive on the left in Britain .(That is the
law.)

 We only use must (+ infinitive) to talk about the present and the future. When we talk about past
obligation or necessity, we use had to.
I had to work late yesterday. (Not: I must work late yesterday.
 Must has no infinitive, -ing form or participles. So, when necessary, we make these forms with have
to.

I'll have to work late tomorrow. (We cannot say I'll must...)
He hates having to get up early. (We cannot say He hates musting ...)

Note that in questions and negatives with have to we use do/does in the present simple and did in the past
simple.

What time do you have to start work? Did you have to walk home last night?
We don't have to hurry. We've got plenty of time.

1
 Compare mustn’t, don't have to

Annie has got a bad cold. Sally is on holiday.

don’t have to get up today

We use mustn't when there is an obligation not We use don't have to when it is not
to do something. necessary to do something.
You mustn 't get up today. (= Do not get up.) I don't have to get up today. (= It is not
You mustn't wash that sweater. It has to necessary to get up.)
be dry-cleaned. (= Do not wash it.) You don't have to wash that shirt. It isn't dirty. (=
It is not necessary to wash it.)

Complete the sentences with the correct form of have to. Some of them are in the present and
some of them are in the past. Use the verbs in brackets.

1-) Dave : We have to write a 1000-word essay before next Friday:

Jill : What about me? ……………………….. (write) one, too?
Dave : Yes, I think so. Everybody has to do so.
2-) Pat : Did Ruth enjoy her summer job in France?
Sam : No, she hated it. She ……………………(work) every day, so she didn’t see anything of
the country.
3-) John : Which job is Harry going to accept?
Ruth : I don’t know. He’s going to think about it at the weekend. He ……………… (decide)
today.
4-) Ian : I really enjoyed Jane’s party last night, but there were no buses home after midnight.
Lynn : ……………………….. (walk) home?
Ian : Yes, it was a long way.
5-) Phil : This book is so boring. I hope I finish reading it soon.
Carol : Why ……………………….. (read) it?
Phil : Because I’ve got a literature exam next week.

2
Underline the correct verb form.

1-) You mustn’t / don’t have to tell Mary what I told you. It’s a secret.
2-) The museum is free. You mustn’t / don’t have to pay to get in.
3-) You mustn’t / don’t have to drive with an expired licence.
4-) Terry’s a millionaire. He mustn’t / doesn’t have to go to work.
5-) I mustn’t / don’t have to do my washing. My mother does it for me.

MUST, HAVE TO, SHOULD, OUGHT TO, NEED

OBLIGATION/DUTY/NECESSITY= Must-Have to-Should-Ought to-Need

We use must to refer to the present or future.

 Must = it is your duty/you are obliged to do sth. e.g. You must listen to your teacher.
 Have to = it is necessary to do sth. e.g. We have to be at the airport at 9 o’clock.

We use must when the speaker decides that something is necessary. ‘Must’ is more common for
specific (i.e. on one occasion) or personal obligation.

We use have to when somebody else other than the speaker has made the decision. ‘Have to’ is more
common for general, external obligations (i.e. rules and laws)

e.g. I must finish the report by tomorrow. (The speaker decides.)

I have to finish the report by tomorrow. (Somebody else has made the decision.)

You must exercise. (I’m telling you.)

I have to exercise. (The doctor told me.)

 Must and have to have different meanings in questions.

e.g. Must I tidy my room? (=Do you insist that I tidy my room?)
Do I have to tidy my room? (=Is it necessary for me to tidy my room?)

 Have got to has the same meaning as have to, and is often used in everyday speech.
e.g. ‘I’ve got to phone my mum tonight.’

 We use have to when we need to use other tenses.

e.g. We had to call for the doctor when Aunt Lucy fainted last night.
I have always had to work a lot for all my life.

 Should/Ought to (less strong than must) expresses duty.

e.g. People should/ought to take better care of the environment.

 Need = it is necessary to do sth.e.g. Need I talk to the boss right away?

3
NOTE: Need expresses necessity and can be used as a main verb or as a modal verb with no
difference in meaning. When it is used as a main verb it is followed by a to-infinitive and takes –s in
the third person singular. We form questions and negations with do/does.
e.g. Mike needs to buy some new clothes.
You don’t need to do this right now.
Need is used as a modal verb mainly in questions and negations.
e.g. Need I book a room in advance? (Also: Do I need to book ….?)
You needn’t give me a lift home. (Also: You don’t need to ….)

ABSENCE OF NECESSITY= Don’t have to-Needn’t/Don’t need to

 Don’t have to -Needn’t /don’t need to + present infinitive (present or future)= it isn’t necessary to
do sth
e.g. You don’t have to/needn’t/ don’t need to work tonight. (It isn’t necessary for you to work
tonight.)

 Didn’t need to/didn’t have to= it was not necessary to do sth. This structure suggests that an
action did not happen in the past because we knew then that it was not necessary.
e.g. She didn’t need to/didn’t have to take a taxi.(It wasn’t necessary, so she didn’t.)
e.g.. Because her husband ordered a pizza, she didn’t need to/didn’t have to cook yesterday. (It wasn’t
necessary, so she didn’t.)

PROHIBITION=Mustn’t – Can’t

 Mustn’t/Can’t =it is forbidden to do sth/you are not allowed to do sth/it is against the rules/law to
do sth.
e.g. You mustn’t/can’t drive over 35 mph. (=It is against the law.You are not allowed to drive over 35
mph.)
e.g. You mustn’t/can’t park here. (=It is against the law.You are not allowed to park here.)

ADVICE= -Should-Ought to-Had better- Must

 Should/Ought to + present infinitive= I advise you to do sth.

e.g. It’s late. You should go/ ought to go home as soon as possible.
I think you should / ought to see a doctor.

We use Should/Ought to to ask for and give advice. To say what is generally right or wrong.

 Had better + bare infinitive is used to say what is the best thing to do in a situation.
e.g. It’s cold. The children had (’d) better wear their coat.
You had (’d) better not argue with him.
He had (’d) better study harder if he wants to pass the exam.
We could also use should or ought to in these examples, although had better is stronger.

4
 Must is also used to give strong advice. Compare the examples.
e.g. ‘You must follow a healthy diet.’ the doctor said to me. (an order which is likely to be obeyed.)
‘You should/ought to follow a healthy diet.’ my friend said to me.(a piece of advice which I may
or
may not follow.)

Choose the correct answer.

1. Tom: I need/must hurry. I don’t want to miss the bus and keep Sally waiting.
Lucy: You needn’t / must go by bus. I’ll take you there.
2. All the employees in this company had to/must work overtime everyday next week.
3. With a temperature like that, you should/need be in bed. You needn’t /shouldn’t be outside.
4. I’m sorry, Sir, but you mustn’t /can’t see Dr Brown today. You have to/need have an appointment.
Is
Tuesday OK?
5. They needn’t/didn’t need to buy any bread. There is plenty at home.
6. You don’t have to/mustn’t do any cooking as I’ve already prepared something.
7. Everyone is asleep. We don’t have to/mustn’t make a noise.
8. I’m quite happy to walk. You should/needn’t drive me home.
9. It’s late. I think we had better/need go now.
10. A: You needn’t /mustn’t be late for your job interview.
B: I know. I mustn’t /must leave early in order to be on time.
11. A: Do you want me to wait for you after work?
B: No, you don’t have to/had better not wait. I can walk home by myself.
12. A: You shouldn’t/ought to interrupt while people are talking.
B: I know. It’s very bad manners to do that.
13. We didn’t need to / needn’t hurry, so we stopped to have lunch on the way.
14. A: We needn’t /mustn’t go shopping this week. We’ve got plenty of food.
B: Alright. We’ll go next week instead.
15. A: I found a briefcase on the train.
B: You ought to/don’t have to take it to the police station as soon as possible.

Underline the correct words.

Are you cool?

If you don’t feel that you are as cool as you would like to be, read this advice.
 You must/need pay attention to how you move and how you look at people.
 You need to/need pay attention to your clothes. You should/ought wear the right clothes at the right
time.This shows that you have style. However, you had to/had better not show off, because it’s not
cool to do so.
 You had better not/needn’t talk a lot, especially about yourself!
 You mustn’t/don’t have to get angry, ever! Being angry is never cool.
 Finally, you don’t need/shouldn’t worry about little things. You should/ought relax and enjoy life.