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Modal verbs: Must, have to

Presentation / Objective

 

The usage of modal verbs must and have to will help you to talk about obligations and responsibilities.

This is meaningful in everyday life of any person. You have to use this in certain situations such as, at work, at school, with your friends or relatives.

In general, remember you need to express and describe your daily activities and duties.

 

 

Illustration of the word responsibility

Objective:

By the end of this topic you will:
Be able to express obligations and duties as well as to recognise the prohibitions in spoken and written form in different situations, circumstances and places.

Content

Have to

This modal verb is considered semi-modal because it needs auxiliaries to make questions or negative sentences in the different tenses.

Have to' shows that the obligation comes from someone else, not the speaker. It is used to talk about obligations and responsibilities. It’s a law or a rule, and the speaker can’t change it.

 

Examples:

Imagen1 Hand sign some papers. Woman working late A happy family
 

In the negative sentences, auxiliary verbs are required.

Examples:

Imagen1 School closed Woman finishing her job
 

Content

Must

Must show us that the obligation comes from the speaker. It isn’t a law or a rule. Besides, it is only used in present and future.

 

Examples:

Imagen1 Boy read your exam Child with an exam
 

In negative form Must expresses prohibition about something.

Examples:

Imagen1 Sign do not play with fire Sign do not drive above the speed limit

 

 

So now you have enough information to express different levels of obligation and prohibition.

For more information click on this link about Modals to clarify any question you may have.

Reading

Activity 1

Recognising statements

There are different ways to drive in every single place. For example in London drivers usually drive on their right hand, and this changes the driving instructions as well as the rules. This is why some drivers in America have problems driving in London.

Read the text and answer the questions below.

Answer the following questions according to the text, select True (T) or False (F). You can know your score at the end of the exercise.

Listening

Activity 2

Listen and get a conclusion

Most people all over around the world like talking for a long time about things they are interested in. For example, teenagers love talking on the phone.

Look at the following exercise and choose the best option. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.

Click here to listen to the audio.

Activity 3

Shopping time?

Now, you are going to listen to the second part of this conversation between Emily and Liz and answer (T) for true statements or (F) for false.

Women talking on the phone

Click here to listen to the audio.

 

Writing

Activity 4

Write about a model you know

There are different jobs and being a policeman is not really a good one. For example, in Mexico, police officers do not earn good salaries, and they have to deal with different corruption aspects. Here we have a policewoman from the US whose occupation represents other types of duties and obligations.

Provide a description taking into consideration Libby’s occupation. Include sentences using: Must, Must not Have to, or does not have to, depending on the situation listed in Libby’s profession.

Policewoman

Utility_Inc. (2015). Sin título [fotografía] tomada de https://pixabay.com/es/bodyworn-c%C3%A1mara-de-cuerpo-794099/

 

Example:

 

● Patrolling designated areas

Answer: Libby has to patrol designated areas.

● Wear a uniform.

Answer: She has to wear a uniform.

1. During the rain.
2. Smoke in the police office.
3. Ask money to a citizen for providing him or her protection.
4. Answering a phone call from a seller who offers items.
5. Answering an emergency call of a robbery.
6. Answering a phone call from his boss.
7. She is injured in her job.
8. She finishes her working hours.
9. Graduate from an agency police academy.

Check the rubrics and the uses of MUST and HAVE TO before you write your paper. Then write your essay.

 

 

Activity 5

Describing a perfect job

Provide a description of the perfect job you would like to have and describe the responsibilities and obligations of this job. Take into consideration the sentences you did in the previous exercise about Libby’s situation.

 

Check the rubrics and the uses of MUST and HAVE TO before you write your paper. Then write your essay.

Speaking

Activity 6

Talk about duties

Whenever you get a new job, you need to know about the duties you have to do to take them into consideration and do your best.

Now, you will look at different images, write a list of sentences describing the processes the man in the picture has to do. You can begin as follows:

Example:
Lucas is a cook, and he got a new job in an Italian restaurant. At 10 am. he has to peel the garlic and prepare the condiments, then…

 

Continue with the rest of the images. When you have finished, please, make sure your essay has the characteristics described in the rubrics.

 

 

Activity 7

Talk about prohibitions

Carlos has entered the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the USA. He has to be careful with the prohibition signs in the campus. As you will see some of them are similar to the ones, you have in your country.

Look at the images and mention the actions that are banned in that university.

Example:
You must enter the university with an ID.


Record your answers and check them out with the rubrics provided.

 

Self-assessment

Self-assessment 1

Obligations and rules to follow

Look at the sentences and complete them using must not, have to or must.

 

Self-assessment 2

Travelling by bus

Read the following actions while travelling by bus and select the best option. There are some that may have two correct answers.

 

Self-assessment 3

Daily expressions you have and must do or not

It is common to see or talk about different situations in our daily life. You have to be sure about the things you must do or have to do, as well as the ones you must not do or do not have to do. So here you have a quiz for checking that information.

Complete the following sentences using must, must not, have to and do not have to. Read and understand the context of the sentences.

 

References

Basic references

British Counsil. (2016). Have to / must. Retrieved on 2017, April 04 from http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar-vocabulary/grammar-videos/have-must-and-should-obligation-and-advice
Inglés Naturalmente. (2015, March 18). Diferencias entre must y have to y mustn’t y don’t have to. Retrieved on 2017, April 04 from http://inglesnaturalmente.com/2015/03/18/diferencias-entre-must-y-have-to-y-mustnt-y-dont-have-to/
ThoughtCo. (2014, December 16). Must - Have to. Retrieved on 2017, April 04 from https://www.thoughtco.com/must-have-to-1211255

Complementary references

English Page.com. (2017). Modal Verbs Exercise 2. Retrieved on 2017, April 04 from http://www.englishpage.com/modals/interactivemodal2.htm