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Must and Have to for beginners

have to modals must semi-modals

'Have to' and 'must' have the same meaning and are used to express obligations. However, they are used in different situations and are not interchangeable.

beginner intermediate advanced

"Must and Have to" in English Grammar

We use 'must' to talk about rules and obligations in the present.

Structure

Typically, the base form of the verb is used after 'must'.

For example:

You must do your homework.

He must pay her back.

You must be quiet after 10 o'clock.

'Must' has only one form for all persons.

I	must work.
He/She/It	must work.
We/You/They	must work.

Negation

The negative form of must is 'must not' or 'mustn’t'. But keep in mind that in modern everyday English, 'mustn't' and 'must not' are not commonly used.

You mustn't disrespect your parents.

They must not forget their duties.

These sentences are both rather formal and we normally use 'shouldn't' or 'should not' instead.

Warning

Do not use don’t/doesn’t/didn’t with 'must.'

Forming Questions

To form questions, all you need to do is move 'must' to the beginning of the sentence before the subject . But remember that it is rather formal and it is not used in everyday English that often.

Must you be this cruel?

Must I pay now?

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Contents

The Modal Verb Must
Structure
Negation
Forming Questions

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