MUST/HAVE TO/NEED : OBLIGATION

MUST/HAVE TO/NEED


OBLIGATION







1. Must, must not and need not compared to the other forms.

a. Must, must not and need not express the speaker's authority:
You must do your homework before you watch TV.
You must not turn the TV till you have done your homework.
You needn't do your homework tonight. You can leave it till tomorrow.

b. The other forms have to/will have to/had to and won't/don't/didn't need to express external obligation:
KAMAL'S SISTER: KAMAL is starting work next week. He'll have to get up early. He'll hate that.
Sometimes MUST and NEED NOT can be used for external obligation also. NEED NOT is quite often used in this way, especially in the first person.

2. Must not and need not compared.

a. MUST NOT expresses negative obligation or the speaker's emphatic advice ( prohibition ):
You must not tell anyone.
ZOO NOTICE: Visitors mustn't feed the giraffes.
RAILWAY NOTICE: Passengers must not walk on the railway line.

a. Obligation.

AFFIRMATIVE

Must can be used to give strong advice or orders to oneself or other people.
I really must stop smoking.
You must be here by eight o'clock at the latest.
When must is used the obligation comes from the speaker. If the obligation comes from
outside must is possible but HAVE TO is more common.
I have to work from 9.00 a.m. till 5.00 p.m.

INTERROGATIVE

In questions, must is used to ask about the wishes or intentions of the person one is speaking to.
Must I clean all the rooms?
Why must you always leave your dirty clothes in the bathroom?

NEGATIVE

In negative sentences, DON'T NEED TO, NEEDN'T or DON'T HAVE TO, is used to say
that there is no obligation; MUSTN'T is used to tell people no to do things:
You needn't work tomorrow if you don't want to.
You mustn't move any of the papers on my desk.
Must can only be used to refer to present and future obligation. To talk about the past, had to is used.
I had to leave early because I wasn't feeling well.

b. Deduction.

Must can be used to say that we are sure about something (because it is logically necessary)
Maryam must have some problem: she keeps crying.
I'm in love. That must be nice.
That's the doorbell. It must be Rachid.
Must is only used in this way in affirmative sentences. In questions and negatives we use can or can't instead.
That can't be the postman. It's only seven o'clock.
What do you think this letter can mean?
Must is used with the perfect infinitive for deductions about the past. (can and can't for questions and negatives)
We went to Zagora. That must have been nice.
The lights have gone out. A fuse must have blown.
I don't think he can have heard you. Call again.
Where can Jalal have put the matches?
He can't have thrown them away.
In reported speech, must can be used after a past reporting verb as if it were a past tense.
(Only in that case, must refers to the past).
I decided that I must stop smoking.
I felt there must be something wrong.

HAVE TO

Have to is used, with a following infinitive, to express the idea of obligation.
How often do you have to travel on business?
Sorry I have to go now.
We make a distinction between habitual or repeated obligation, and non-habitual obligation. When there is the idea of repetition we use ordinary verb-forms, with do in questions and negatives.
I don't usually have to work on Sundays.
Do you often have to speak French in your job?
When we are talking about one thing that we are obliged to do, it is more usual to use got-forms.
I haven't got to work tomorrow.
Have you got to do any interpreting this week?
Got-forms are unusual in the past, and are replaced by ordinary verb-forms of infinitive and participles.
Did you have to go to the kindergarten when you were a child?
To talk about the future, both have to and will have to are common.
I've got to get up early tomorrow. We're going to Fes.

HAVE TO AND MUST

1. Both of these verbs are used to talk about obligation.
Must is most often used to talk about an obligation that depends on the person speaking or listening: if I say that you or I must do something, I probably mean that I feel it is necessary.
Have to is generally used to talk about obligations that come from "outside".
I must stop smoking (I want to).
You must try to get to work on time (I want you to)
I must make an appointment with the dentist (I've got toothache)
This is an awful party, we really must go (I want us to go).
You've got to go and see the boss (he wants you to).
Muslims have to go to the Mosque on Fridays (our religion tells so)
I've got to see the dentist tomorrow (I have an appointment).
This is a lovely party, but we've got to go because of the baby-sitter.

2. Must, in questions, asks about the wishes of the person one is speaking to.
Do your homework. Oh, must I?

3. Must has no past form; past obligation is usually expressed by using had to (except in
reported speech)
When I was your age I had to get at 5 every morning.
I told him he mustn't make a decision.

4. The negative forms mustn't and don't have to have quite different meanings. Compare:
You mustn't tell Badr. (Don't tell him)
You don't have to tell Badr. (You can if you want but it isn't necessary)

5. Instead of don't have to and haven't got to, needn't is often used in British English.
You needn't tell Badr.

NEED.

a. The ordinary forms of need are much more common than the modal auxiliary forms. The only modal form which is often used is needn't.
You needn't try to explain.
Do you need to stay this evening?
When the modal forms are used, they usually refer to immediate necessity; they are often used to ask for or give permission -usually permission not to do something. Ordinary verb forms are more common when we talk about habitual, "general" necessity. Compare:
(1) We needn't book a table. The restaurant won't be full.
Need I do the washing up? I'm in a hurry.
(2) Do you need to get a visa if you go to Algeria?

b. Present tense forms of need can be used to talk about the future, but will need to is often used to give advice. Compare:
(1) Need I come in early tomorrow? (Or, Do I need to come in...)
I need to get the car service soon.
(2) You'll need to start work soon if you want to pass your exams.

c. Affirmative modal forms are possible after negative verbs, and in sentences which express doubt or negative ideas.
I wonder if we need take sleeping-bags.
I don't think he need go just yet.
The only thing you need do is fill in this form.
(You don't need to do anything else)
Note that these affirmative modal forms are mainly used in a formal style. In informal usage we would probably use the ordinary forms.
I wonder if we need to take sleeping-bags.
I don't think he needs to go just yet.
The only thing you need to do is fill in this form.

d. Note the difference between needn't and mustn't. Needn't is used to say that there is no obligation; mustn't expresses an obligation not to do something because it is forbidden. Compare:
You needn't tell Salma. She already knows.
You mustn't tell Salma. I don't want her to know.

NEEDN'T + perfect infinitive.

If you say that somebody needn't have done something, it means that he did, but that it was unnecessary:
You needn't have woken me up: I don't have to go to work today.
I needn't have bought all that coke. Only three people came to the party.
The ordinary past (didn't need to) is not quite the same. Compare:
She needn't have hurried (It wasn't necessary but she did)
She didn't need to hurry (It wasn't necessary. We don't know if she did).

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MAY/MIGHT

MAY/MIGHT

1. MEANINGS.

The commonest uses of MAY and MIGHT are to talk about possibility, and to ask for
(and give) permission.
We may be moving to Casablanca next year.
You know, I think it may rain.
May I have some more tea? Yes, of course, you may.
I wonder if I might ask you a favour.

2. PERMISSION.

a. MAY and MIGHT are both used to ask for permission. They are rather formal;
MIGHT carries the idea of being tentative or hesitant, and is not very common.
May I turn the television on?
I wonder if I might have a little more coffee.
MAY (not MIGHT) is also used to give permission; MAY NOT is used to refuse or forbid it.
Yes, of course you may.
Students may not stay out after midnight.

b. MAY and MIGHT can only normally be used to request, give and refuse permission. They are not usual when we talk about permission in other ways. Instead we use CAN and COULD.
These days, children can do what they like (not MAY).
When I was ten, I could watch more TV programmes if I asked my parents first (not MIGHT).

c. MIGHT does not normally have a past sense, only as the past tense of MAY in indirect
speech to report the giving of permission.
What are you doing here? The manager said I might look round.

3. POSSIBILITY.

a. MAY and MIGHT are often used to talk about the possibility that something will happen, or is happening. MIGHT is not the past of MAY; it suggests a smaller (present or future)
probability than MAY.
We may go climbing in the Atlas next summer.
I wonder where Aicha is. She may be with Nawal, I suppose.
Badr might phone. If he does, could you ask him to ring later?
I might get a job soon.
MAY is not used interrogatively in questions about possibility:
Is it likely to rain?
Do you think she's with Nawal?

b. MIGHT can have a conditional use.
If you took some exercise, you might not be so fat.

c. Both MAY and MIGHT can be used with perfect infinitives to talk about the possibility that past events happened.
Polly's very late. She may have missed her train.
What do you think that noise was? It might have been a cat.
MIGHT can also be used in this structure to say that a past event was possible, but didn't happen.
You were stupid to try climbing up there. You might have killed yourself.

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CAN/COULD.

CAN/COULD.

1. ABILITY.

a. Present and future.

CAN is usually used to talk about the present or the general ability, -the ability to do
something any time you want to.
Look! I can do it!
You can certainly cook even if you can't do anything else.
BE ABLE is also possible but less common.
I'll be able to speak Spanish in a few months.
But CAN is often possible when people make present decisions about future ability.
We're too busy today, but we can repair your car tomorrow.
Can you come to a party on Saturday?

b. Past.

COULD is used for "general ability", to say that you could do something any time you wanted to.
She could sing like an angel when she was a kid.(or she was able)
My father could speak six languages.
COULD is not used to talk about particular ability (to do something on one occasion) in the past.
Instead we use WAS ABLE TO DO, MANAGED TO DO or SUCCEEDED IN DOING.
How many eggs was he able to eat in the competition? (not could)
He managed to eat 80 eggs . (not could)
After six hours' climbing, we succeeded in reaching the top of the mountain. (not could)
The negative COULDN'T is used for both general and particular ability.
When I was younger, I couldn't decide what I wanted to do.
Salim was so tired that he couldn't reach the front door.

c. Conditional COULD.

COULD is also used in a conditional sense (meaning "would be able to).
I could have a really good time if I had a flat of my own.
We could do it by midday if we had the tools.

d. Could with the perfect infinitive.

Sometimes we want to say that we had the ability to do something, but we didn't try to do
it. There is a special structure for this: COULD + perfect infinitive.
I could have married anybody I wanted to
I could have bought it!
You could have helped me!
The structure can have a conditional meaning:
He could have won if he hadn't fallen down during the race.
Negative sentences with this structure express the idea of "I wouldn't have been able to do it even if I had tried".
I couldn't have won, so I didn't go in for the race.

2. POSSIBILITY (CAN and COULD, MAY and MIGHT)

a. Theoretical possibility.

CAN is used to say that events and situations are possible (without talking about the
chances of them actually happening).
Anybody who wants to can become a volunteer in our community.
How many books can fit into this school bag?
Sentences with CAN often give information about the characteristic behaviour of people or things.
Agadir can be very warm in December.
Gold can't be dissolved in hydrochloric acid.
To talk about the past, COULD is used.
My grandmother could be very unpleasant at times.
We often use CAN to make suggestions about possible solutions to a problem, or possible actions.
We've got three choices: we can go to the police, we can talk to him ourselves, or we can forget all about it.
In order to make suggestions more "tentative" -less strong and definite- we use COULD.
We could try asking Leila, if you think it's a good idea.
Could we meet again tomorrow?

b. Chances.

1. Future possibility.

We don't use CAN to say that there is a chance that something will happen.
Instead, we usually use MAY or MIGHT.
We may go climbing this summer.
COULD is used to give the idea that something is just possible, but not particularly likely.
We could go climbing this summer, but I doubt if we'll have time.

2. Present possibility.

MAY, MIGHT and COULD are also used to say that something is possibly true at the moment of speaking.
You may be right.
You could be right, but I don't think you are.
This could be your big chance.
CAN is sometimes used to talk about present possibility, but only in questions and negative
sentences.
Who can that be at the door?
Can it be Sara? (Not *It can be Susan)
What can she possibly want?
It can't be true. (not *It can be true)

3. CAN and COULD with the perfect infinitive.

CAN and COULD are both used with the perfect infinitive (have + past participle) for speculating or guessing about the past. CAN is only used in questions and negative sentences.
Where can he have gone?
He can't have gone to school. It's Saturday.
He could have gone off with some friends. (not can)
COULD with the perfect infinitive, is also used to talk about an unrealized past possibility:
something that was possible but didn't happen.
You were stupid to go cycling there. You could have broken your leg.
It wasn't a good idea to throw the bottle out of the window. It could have hit somebody.
You could have told me you had invited people to dinner (used to criticize people)
My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I couldn't have put up with all those years of
study. (something was not possible.)
MAY and MIGHT can also be used with the perfect infinitive in similar ways to COULD.

3. PERMISSION (CAN and COULD, MAY and MIGHT)

a. Asking for permission.

CAN, COULD, MAY and MIGHT are all used in asking for permission. CAN is probably
the commonest of the four.
Can I have more tea , please?
COULD is rather more hesitant than CAN, and is used when you are not sure that you will get a permission (or when you don't want to sound too sure).
Could I ask you something if you are not too busy?
MAY and MIGHT are used in a more formal style. MIGHT is more hesitant and is not very
common.

b. Giving permission.

When we give permission we use CAN and MAY but not COULD or MIGHT.
Could I use your phone? Yes, of course, you can. (not could)
Might I trouble you for a light? You may indeed. (not might)

4. OFFERS AND REQUESTS.

CAN and COULD are often used to offer to do things for people, and to ask other people
to do things. COULD is more hesitant, less definite than CAN and it is used when we want to make an offer or a request seem more polite or respectful. Statements and questions are both common.
I can lend you two hundred dirhams till Wednesday if that will help.
I could do the shopping for you, if you're tired.
Can I carry your bag?
Could I give you dinner one of these days?
You can start by doing the washing up, and then you can clean the car.
You could phone Aicha and see what time she's coming.
Can you come here a minute, please?
Could you help me with this exercise, please?

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