Modals of obligation:
must, have to
English File Pre-intermediate 4th
Edition
File 7C
4th Level
Modals
Before the topic for this unit, let’s remember how
all modals work.
• Modals (or modal verbs) are NOT real actions. They help
a verb to have an intention.
• Modal verbs can belong to different intentions.
• The verb that follows a modal verb must always be in the
INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO form.
Modals
• Most modal verbs do not have a conjugation.
They keep the same form for all subjects.
• Some modals verbs need to be conjugated:
have to, for example.
• As modal verbs need no conjugation, they
express their intention in a specific tense.
Let’s have some examples of modal verbs
in general:
Mattias cannot walk yet. He’s just a baby.
Modal verb: cannot (no conjugation)
Intention: ability (negative)
Tense: present
Real verb: walk (infinitive without to)
So, CAN is helping WALK to express the intention of ability.
CAN
belongs to the present, so Mattias is unable to do the action now.
What intentions are we working on in this
unit?
OBLIGATION
To express obligation, we use the following
modal verbs:
• Have to
• Must
HAVE TO
HAVE TO is a verb like all other verbs, so it has to be conjugated and
has
infinitive and gerund forms.
I hate having to work on Sundays. (I hate that obligation.) (We use the
gerund (ing) after hate.)
Did you have to wear a uniform when you were in Secondary School?
(Was it in the rules?) (Past tense)
Dan will have to hurry if he wants to catch the train. (It is necessary that
the first action happens so the second can happen too) (Future)
HAVE TO
• We use HAVE TO to express obligation or when it is necessary
to do something so something else may happen. For example:
Nurses have to wear uniforms. (They have the obligation to do it)
I had to pay my credit card last Monday. (It was my obligation
because I have a contract with the bank.)
To travel by plane, you have to buy the tickets first. (It is
necessary to buy a ticket before you can get into the plane)
HAVE TO
It is said that we use HAVE TO when we have an external obligation established in a
set of
rules, the law, a contract, etc.
We can also use it for strong recommendations. For example:
In my country, people have to pay taxes when they buy most products. (The law says
that.)
The movie is great! You definitely have to see it. (I strongly recommend the movie.)
In spoken English we can also use HAVE GOT TO instead of HAVE TO. For example:
Sorry, I’ve got to go.
She’s got to finish this before she goes home.
A note for HAVE TO:
When we use HAVE TO in a negative form, there is no
obligation to
do something or it is not necessary to do something. For
example:
The mall is nearby. We don’t have to drive to get there. (It
is not necessary but we can take the car if we want to.)
The concert is free so we don’t have to pay for the tickets.
(There’s no obligation to pay because the concert is free.)
MUST
• We use MUST (not HAVE TO) when we talk about
personal / social / moral obligations.
• MUST is also used to express obligation.
Many times, we can use MUST or HAVE TO with no
difference in meaning when we talk about general obligation
and strong recommendations. In spoken English it is more
common to use HAVE TO and in written or formal English,
MUST is normally used.
Let’s have some examples:
I must stop eating so much sugar. I’ll start
tomorrow. (personal obligation)
People mustn’t speak so loudly when they are in a
restaurant. (social obligation)
If you go to Madrid, you must go to the Del Prado
Museum. It’s amazing! (strong recommendation)
A note about MUST
When we use MUST in a negative way (MUSTN’T), the intention
changes to
PROHIBITION. It usually refers to actions which are against the law.
To
express prohibition, we can also use CAN’T or NOT ALLOWED TO
with the same intention:
You are not allowed to park here. It’s for ambulances only.
You can’t park here. It’s for ambulances only.
You mustn’t park here. It’s for ambulances only.
Let’s contrast HAVE to and MUST:
You must call your mother this weekend. You haven’t talked to
her since Christmas.
(We use MUST because this is purely a personal obligation.
There’s no rule or law that says that you have to call her this
weekend.)
You have to call your mother so she knows we are going to visit.
(We use HAVE TO because the action is necessary. If you don’t
call her, she will not know about the visit.)
Let’s contrast HAVE to and MUST:
We have to wear helmets and protection glasses
to get into this section of the factory.
(It is in the rules.)
You must really wash those jeans. They look
dirty and greasy.
(It’s a personal choice.)
What to remember about this topic?
• We are working with modal verbs, and grammatically, they
follow the same rule: modal verb + infinitive without to.
• HAVE TO follows the rules of any other verbs, so it can be
used in any tense with the rules of conjugation (auxiliaries
in questions and negatives, 3rd person changes, etc).
• The same modal verb can belong to different intentions.
The context will help us know what the intention is.
Where to practice more?
• https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/preint3/
grammar/file07/grammar07_c01?cc=global&s
elLanguage=en
• https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/preint3/
grammar/file07/grammar07_c02?cc=global&s
elLanguage=en
• https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a2/ha
ve-to-dont-have-to-must-mustnt/
