B have to

C Difference between the starred have to forms

have to (without got) and its negative don't/doesn't have to are the correct forms for habitual actions but can be used for single actions also, and are common in American English. have (got) to and haven't (got) to are for single actions only

TOM: / have to go to work every day except Sunday. But I don 7 have to work a full day on Saturday. But on Sunday he could say:

I'm glad I haven't (got) to go to work today or I'm glad I don't have to go to work today

In the past didn't have to can be used for both habitual and single actions in the past.

hadn't (got) to is used more for single actions. didn't have to is the more generally used form. have to in the affirmative expresses obligation. have to in the negative expresses absence of obligation. This can also be expressed by need not, don't need etc. (see 149).

145 Difference between must and have to in the affirmative A must expresses obligation imposed by the speaker:

MOTHER: You must wipe your feet when you come in. have to expresses external obligation:

small Ben: / have to tape my feet every time I come in. B Second person examples

1 Speaker's authority

MOTHER: You must wear a dress tonight. You can't go to the opera

in those dreadful jeans

EMPLOYER: You must use a dictionary. I'm tired of correcting your

spelling mistakes.

DOCTOR: You must cut down on your smoking,

2 External authority

You have to wear uniform on duty, don't you? You have to train very hard for these big matches, I suppose You 'II have to get up earlier when you start work, won't you?

You'll have to cross the line by the footbridge.

C Third person examples

Here must is chiefly used in written orders or instructions:

R AILWAY COMPANY: Passengers must cross the line by the footbridge.

office MANAGER: Staff must be at their desks by 9.00.

REGULATION: A trailer must have two rear lamps. When we are merely stating or commenting on another person's obligations we use have to:

In this office even the senior staff have to be at then desks by 9 00.

She has to make her children 's clothes. She can't afford to buy them.

They'll have to send a diver down to examine the hull.

Tf we used must instead of have to above it might imply that the peaker had authority to order these actions. But must may be used when the speaker approves of an obligation:

A driver who has knocked someone down must stop (The speaker

thinks it is the driver's duty to stop.) Or when the speaker feels strongly:

Something must be done to stop these accidents.

D First person examples

In the first person the difference between must and have to is less important and very often either form is possible:

TYPIST: / must/will have to buy a dictionary.

PATIENT: / must/have to/will have to cut down on my smoking But have to is better for habits:

/ have to take two of these pills a day

and must is better when the obligations are urgent or seem important to the speaker:

I must tell you about a dream I had last night.

Before we do anything I must find my cheque book.

E Some other examples (all persons)

You must come and see us some time. (This is quite a usual way of

expressing a casual invitation.)

The children have to play in the street till their parents come home.

This sort of thing must stop! (The speaker either has authority or

feels very strongly about it.)

You must write to your uncle and thank him for his nice present.

If there are no taxis we'll have to walk.

If your father was a poor man you'd have to work.

We have to walk our dog twice a day.

NOTICE IN shop WINDOW Closing down sale! Everything must go!

F Affirmative obligations in the past: had to

Here the distinction between the speaker's authority and external authority cannot be expressed and there is only one form, had to:

7 ran out of money and had to borrow from Tom.

You had to pay duty on that, I suppose?

There were no buses so he had to walk.

146 need not and must not in the present and future

need not can be used for present and future. It has the same form for all persons. (See 148.)

need not expresses absence of obligation. The speaker gives permission for an action not to be performed or sometimes merely states that an action is not necessary:

EMPLOYER: You needn't make two copies. One will do.

Give them this cheque. They needn 't send me a receipt.

You needn't change (your clothes) Just come as you are.

must not expresses a negative obligation imposed by the speaker or very emphatic advice:

You mustn 't repeat this to anyone.

NOTICE IN SHOP: Staff must not smoke when serving customers.

You mustn't leave your car unlocked. This place is full of thieves.

147 need not, must not and must in the present and future

DOCTOR: You needn't go on a diet; but you must eat sensibly and you mustn't overeat.

ZOO notice: Visitors must not feed the animals. RAILWAY NOTICE: Passengers must not walk on the line. You mustn't drive fast. There is a speed limit here. You needn 't drive fast. We 've plenty of time. You needn't strike a match. I can see well enough. You mustn't strike a match. This room is full of gas. SCHOOL NOTICE: The lifts must not be used during Fire Drill. You mustn't wear that dress again. You look terrible in yellow. TEACHER: You needn't read the whole book but you must read the first four chapters.

You must cut down that dead tree or it will fall on your house. DOCTOR: You mustn't take more than two of these pills at once. Three might be fatal.

DOCTOR (to patient's wife): If the pain has gone he needn't take any more of these.

148 need: forms

A need can be both an auxiliary and an ordinary verb. As an auxiliary it is a semi-modal, i.e. it has both modal and 'ordinary verb' forms. As a modal, its forms are need or need not/needn't for all persons in the present and future and in indirect speech. (See C below.) Interrogative: need I? etc. Negative interrogative: need I not/needn't I? etc. need conjugated as above takes the bare infinitive.

B need as an auxiliary is seldom used in the affirmative except when a negative or interrogative sentence is preceded by an expression which changes the negative or interrogative verb into an affirmative:

/ needn't wear a coat or / don't suppose I need wear a coat.

Need I tell Tom? or Do you think I need tell Tom? It is however sometimes used in fairly formal English with hardly/ scarcely or only:

I need hardly say how' pleased we are to welcome Mr X. (I needn't

say...)

You need only touch one of the pictures for all the alarm bells to start

ringing. (If you even touch one of the pictures all the bells...)

C 'needn't' in direct speech can be reported unchanged: ' You needn't pay till the 31st' he says/said = He says/said I needn't pay till the 31st. (See also 325 C.)

D need can also be conjugated as an ordinary verb with negative forms as shown in 149 below. Corresponding have to forms are also shown. For interrogative forms, see 151.