TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF AMBATO

LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

ENGLISH

Name: Alex Guijarro

Date: August 29, 2020

Class: English B1 Pre-Intermedio – Sunday

Topic: Written about grammar - verbs 'must', 'have to' and 'can'.

Modal verbs are known as those verbs that function as auxiliaries, since they cannot
function as the main verb, that is, they do not work without another verb, such as: have
to / don't have to, can / can't, must / mustn't and should / shouldn't. In this essay you will
learn about when and how to use the modal verbs 'must', 'have to' and 'can', which are
commonly used to talk about present obligations, abilities, permissions, prohibitions and
obligations. Do you know the difference between 'must', 'have to' and 'can'? English
learners often mix these three verbs, so it is important to know how to use must, have
to, and can correctly in English.

'Must' and 'have to' are generally used to talk about obligations, that is, things that you
cannot choose not to do. For example: we should talk to her before she leaves, or, I have
to go to work early tomorrow. If you say, we must talk to her before she leaves, you
mean that you think this is very important, and you should do that.

Meanwhile, when you say, I have to go to work early tomorrow, you mean that you
have no other choice, that is, it is necessary. Both are obligations, but they are slightly
different. The first obligation is more personal, and that is why ‘must’ is used, that is to
say that you feel that it is necessary and important to talk to her before she leaves, the
obligation comes from you and your feelings.

On the other hand, the 'have to' is used when we want to express a situational obligation,
and that for some situational reason you have to do it, that is, it is necessary. For
example. You need to go to work early tomorrow, perhaps because you have to meet a
client, or you have an important job to finish. The obligation comes from the situation,
not from you. It should be noted that the ‘have to’ often expresses an obligation that
comes from an external authority, perhaps a law, a rule at school or work or someone in
authority. For example: Mum: you have to wash your clothes this weekend and you
answer: Yes, mum.

To better understand this topic, we have two more examples of obligations: I must
return the money as promised. -> You made a promise, and now it is important that you
personally return the money to fulfil your promise, the obligation comes from you not
from the situation, otherwise it happens in the following example of have to: You have
to do a lot homework every week. -> This means that you need to do a lot of homework
because the school gives you a lot of homework, the have to is used because you have to
do the homework because the school gives you a lot of homework.

Another point to consider is that it is rare to use must to talk about obligations in spoken
English, since it can sound more formal and stranger, therefore, native English speakers
use 'have to' much more in more natural conversations. However, must can be used to
discuss obligations in formal or written English, for example: All passengers must have
a valid ticket. Candidates must arrive no later than five minutes before the scheduled
start time. This does not mean that you will never hear the must in a conversation, since
the modal verb must has many other meanings.

Regarding the structure of the modal verbs ‘have to’, ‘must’ and ‘can’, we have the
following: The 'have to' varies according to the person to whom it is addressed, for
example, for the determinants I / you / We / They the 'have to' is used while for the third
person the 'had to' is used.

Have to + infinitive without third person

Form I/you/We/They
+ We have to stydy hard.
- They don’t have to work today
¿? Do they have to wear a uniform?
Yes/no Yes, they do. / no, they don’t

The structure for the affirmative form is the following in the first place the subject +
have to + infinitive is placed in the affirmative form + the complement; for the negative
form, the auxiliary don’t + have to + verb in the infinitive plus the complement is used
first; In the interrogative form we start with the auxiliary do + subject + have to + verb
in infinity + complement + the question mark and, finally, in the short form to answer
the do or don't is used according to the answer yes or no.

Have to + infinitive in third person

Form He/ She/ It

On the other hand, when referring to the third person, the 'have to' is used as follows: in
the affirmative, it is placed the subject + has to + verb infinitive + the complement; for
the negative form is usually used the auxiliary doesn’t + have to + verb in infinitive +
complement; in the interrogative form we start with the auxiliary does + subject + have
to + verb in infinitive + complement + the question mark and, finally, in the short form
to answer the does or doesn’t are used as appropriate.

In a similar way it happens with the must, which, as we have mentioned previously, is
used to talk that something is necessary and therefore it is an obligation, for example,
you should not (must) use your telephone while driving.

Must + infinitive

Form I / You / We / They / He / She / It

The structure is as follows: in the affirmative form, the subject + must + the infinitive
verb + the complement goes first, and in the negative form we replace the must with the
mustn’t.

Finally, the modal verb 'Can' is observed, which serves to talk about something that is
possible or allowed, for example: You can park here on Sunday, this means that
possibly weekdays it is not possible but on Sundays it is possible to park in that place.

The opposite happens with the can’t, it is used to talk about something that is not
possible or is not allowed, for example you can’t use calculators during the exam, that
is, something that is not allowed.

Can
 Form I / You / We / They / He / She / It
+ You can leave work early today
- The children can’t go outside alone.
¿? Can I smoke here?
Yes/no Yes, you can / No, you can’t

This verb is used in the affirmative form as follows: subject + can + verb in infinitive +
complement, for the negative form we have: subject + can't + verb in infinitive +
complement, in the interrogative form it is placed first place: can + subject + verb in
infinity and the complement and finally to answer in a short way we place: yes, you can
or no, you can't as the case may be.

It has been reviewed as the must and the have to are not exactly the same, but they are
quite similar, but what about the mustn’t and the don’t have to? These are completely
different. Look at these two sentences: Visitors must not touch the paintings and you
don't have to be here before ten o'clock. The main difference between these two
negative verbs is that the must does not mean that something is prohibited, that is, that
you are not allowed to do this. And what if for example you are in a museum, and the
sign says visitors must not touch the paintings, because it is not allowed then do not
touch the paintings!

On the other hand, don’t have to means that something is not necessary but that it is
possible or allowed and you can choose to do something or not. For example, if we have
plans and I tell you that you don't have to be here before ten o'clock, then you can be
here before ten if you want. You can come at nine, at eight, or whenever you want. It's
your choice.

Like must, must not is more common in formal or written English. In spoken English, it
is more common to use can’t. For example, you may see a sign that says: Mobile
phones should not be used while driving. But if you were talking, you'd probably say:
You can't use your phone while you're driving.

Bibliography.