must/mustn’t, have to/don’t have to –

form
 

must/mustn’t
 

Use must + infinitive without to

Must is a modal verb, and modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without to.

 I must go to the doctor. (NOT I must to go to the doctor.)

No -s
Modal verbs don’t add -s after he/she/it.
  He must come with us. (NOT He must comes with us.)

Use must/mustn’t in negatives and questions

Must is an auxiliary verb. This means that it has a negative and an interrogative
form. Do not use do/did in negatives and questions.

 We mustn’t arrive early. (NOT We don’t must arrive early.)

 Must we arrive early? (NOT Do we must arrive early?)

have to/don’t have to

 

Use do and did in negatives and questions

The verb have in have to is not an auxiliary verb. Use do/don’t, does/doesn’t,
did/didn’t in questions and negative sentences in present and past.

 Do you have to get up early tomorrow? (NOT Have you to get up early

tomorrow?)
 Did you have to buy a new sound card?
 We don’t have to stay until the end.

No contraction
The verb have in have to cannot be contracted to ‘ve.

 I have to study for the exam tomorrow. (NOT I’ve to study for the exam

tomorrow.)

Past and future forms

Only have to has a past and a future form. Must does not have a past or a
future form.

 Yesterday, I had to take a taxi. (NOT Yesterday, I must take a taxi)

 You will have to take a taxi if it rains tomorrow. (NOT You will
must take a taxi.)

must vs have to / mustn’t vs don’t have

to – meaning
 

have to
 

Rules and obligations

We use have to to talk about rules and obligations, something that
is necessary.

 I have to get to work before 7 tomorrow.

 The car broke down and we had to call a taxi.

must
 
Rules and obligations
Must is very similar to have to. We use must + infinitive (without to) to talk
about rules and obligations.

 I must go to the doctor.

 I must get up early tomorrow.

don’t have to
 

Don’t need to – not necessary

If you don’t have to do something, it means that you ‘don’t need to’ do
something (there is no obligation). You can do it but you don’t need to do it if
you don’t want to do it.

 You don’t have to pick me up at the station. I can take a taxi. (=You can

pick me up, but you don’t need to do it).

mustn’t
 

Prohibition
Use mustn’t to talk about something that you can’t do. It’s necessary that you
don’t do it.

 You mustn’t call me before 8. (=You can’t call me before 8.)

 I mustn’t lose my concentration now.

must vs have to
 

must
 
Obligation from the speaker
We normally use must when to talk about obligations that come from the
opinion of the speaker. The speaker thinks it’s necessary or important to do
something.

 MANAGER: You must get up early tomorrow. The meeting is at

nine. (=The obligation comes from the manager. The manager thinks it’s
necessary.)
 DOCTOR: You must stop smoking. (=It’s the doctor’s opinion. The
doctor thinks it’s necessary.)
 SMOKER: I must stop smoking. (=It’s the smoker’s opinion. The
smoker thinks it’s necessary to stop smoking.)

have to
 

External obligation
We normally use have to when there’s an external obligation. The obligation
doesn’t come from the speaker’s opinion; another person thinks it’s necessary.

 WORKER: We have to get up early tomorrow. The meeting is at

nine. (=The obligation comes from the manager, not from the worker.)
 SMOKER: I have to stop smoking. (=It’s the doctor’s opinion, not the
smoker’s opinion. The doctor thinks it’s necessary.)

mustn’t vs don’t have to
 

don’t have to
 

You don’t need to do it; not necessary; no obligation

Don’t have to and mustn’t have opposite meanings. We say that we don’t
have to do something when we don’t need to do something; we can do it, but
it’s not necessary.

 You don’t have to wait here. (=You can do it, but it’s not necessary)

 

mustn’t
 

Prohibition; it’s necessary that you don’t do it

We say that we mustn’t do something when we cannot do something; it
is necessary that we don’t do something.

 You mustn’t wait here. (=You cannot do it; it’s against the rules)

Exercise 1
Choose the correct forms, don’t have to, mustn’t, to complete the sentences below.

1You mustn’t/don’t have to apologise; it isn't necessary.

2You mustn’t/don’t have to tell the boss what happened, or he'll fire you.
3I mustn’t/don’t have to wear a tie; I do it because I like wearing ties.
4You mustn’t/don’t have to smoke in here; smoking is not allowed.
5I mustn’t/don’t have to be late. It's the most important meeting of the year.
6You mustn’t/don’t have to go now; you can stay a bit longer.
7Visitors to the zoo mustn’t/don’t have to feed the animals.
8You mustn’t/don’t have to drive so fast; we have a lot of time.
9We mustn’t/don’t have to cook more; there's enough food.
10You mustn’t/don’t have to put salt in her food; the doctor said she can't eat
salt.
Exercise 2
Choose the most appropriate forms, have to, don’t have to, must, mustn’t,  to complete
the following sentences.

1I _____ leave early because I wasn't feeling well.

a.had to

b.must

c.have to

2You _____ do something to solve this problem.

a.have to

b.'ve to

c.must

3I don't like these clothes, but I _____ wear them at work.

a.must

b.'ve to

c.have to

4Teacher: 'You _____ arrive on time for class.'

a.must

b.mustn't
c.have to

5We didn't have money, so we _____ find a cash dispenser.

a.must

b.had to

c.have to

6You ____ tell anyone; it's a secret.

a.don't have to
b.haven't to
c.mustn't
7_____ pay for the car repair or did the insurance cover it?
a.Did you have to
b.Had you to
c.Did you must
8We ______ leave now; it's 10 and the conference doesn't start until 12.
a.don't have to
b.haven't to
c.mustn't
9We had an accident, but it was OK, we _____ go to the hospital.
a.didn't have to
b.hadn't to
c.didn't must
10The doctor has put me on a strict diet. I _____ eat more fruit and vegetables
and do more exercise.
a.must
b.have to
c.'ve to

Exercise 3
Read an interview to a woman about her job. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in brackets
and the correct forms of have to (affirmative, negative, interrogative) in present or past
simple.

 
EXAMPLE:
Interviewer: What  did you have to do (you/do) at home when you were a child?
Claire: I  had to clean   (clean) my room and make the bed every day.
Interviewer: 1 _____________ (you/work) at night?
Claire: Yes, I 2  _____________ (work) night shifts once every three weeks.
Interviewer: 3  _____________ (you/work) long hours?
Claire: No, I 4  _____________ (not work) long hours, but I can do paid overtime if I
want.
Interviewer: Before you started to work for this company, 5  _____________
(you/do) on-the-job training?
Claire: Yes, and I 6  _____________ (study) a lot too.
Interviewer: What is the most difficult part of your job?
Claire: Well, I usually 7  _____________ (get up) very early and every three weeks
I 8  _____________ (work) nights. In my previous job, a few years ago,
I 9  _____________ (not work) night shifts and I 10  _____________ (not get up) so
early.