Unit 5 - Have To' and Must' (Obligation)
Unit 5 - Have To' and Must' (Obligation)
If you must do something, it is necessary for you to do it, but this is often your opinion
or a rule that you have made yourself.
We see must (not have to) in formal written notices or rules that an organization has
made itself.
All students must be at the examination hall fifteen minutes before the exam.
We can often use either have to or must in a sentence. But be careful! There a big
difference in meaning between don’t have to and mustn’t.If you don’t have to do
something, it isn’t necessary to do it, but you can if you want.
You don’t have to finish the spreadsheet today. Tomorrow will be fine.
Positive
Karen has to get up at six every day in order to get to work on time.
Negative
You don’t have to take a towel. The swimming pool provides them.
They’re expecting us to call so we mustn’t forget.
Questions
It is possible to ask questions with Must + subject...? but it is much more common to
use Do/Does + subject + have to...?
Do I have to come to the meeting tomorrow? (Must I come to the meeting tomorrow?)
Spoken English
Have to and must are modal verbs. When we say modal verbs, we usually say them
quickly and often without emphasis. So have to sounds like ‘hafta’(haf tə). Must sounds
like ‘mus’ (məs). You don’t hear the final /t/ sound in must.