obligation; necessity; orders and advice
CONTEXT LISTENING
This is a scene from a television programme. What kind of programme is it?
You are going to hear one of the girls in the picture telling her mother about the TV programme. Were you right?
Listen again. Rosie talks about all the things below using the following modals and expressions: We have to, We mustn’t, We don’t have to, We needn’t
look after the animals
be good at acting
use mobile phones
take modern equipment
wear a microphone
take our own clothes
cook the meals
stay there
Type your name below and choose the correct expression she uses for each of these.
Grammar
Obligation – must and have to
Must and have to = it is essential or necessary:
You must read the letter carefully.
We have to wear a microphone.
When we ask a question we say:
Must she go?
Does she have to go?
We can often use either must or have to:
I must go now.
I have to go now.
We use must when we give orders or advice:
You must read the letter carefully.
when we decide something is important for us:
I must phone my friends.
We normally use have to
I have to wear a microphone.
We have to cook the meals.
She has to follow the rules in the castle.
In the present tense, we use must or have to.
For other tenses, we use have to:
Past Simple
Future
Present perfect
Obligation – mustn’t and don’t have to
Although must and have to have similar meanings mustn’t ≠ don’t have to.
mustn’t = don’t do it (a rule)
don’t have to = it’s not necessary:
mustn’t = don’t do it (a rule)
We mustn’t use mobile phones.
I mustn’t use a diary.
We can also say It’s not allowed:
We’re not allowed to use mobile phones.
don’t have to = it’s not necessary:
We don’t have to take our own clothes.
Necessity – need
need = it is necessary
I need to buy some bread. (not I need buy some bread.)
Need is a normal verb:
Do you need to take any food with you?
In the negative, need can be...
either a modal verb:
You needn’t worry.
or a normal verb:
You don’t need to worry.
Needn’t and don’t need to = it isn’t necessary = don’t have to:
You needn’t worry
= You don’t need to worry.
= You don’t have to worry.
In the past we say:
+They needed to look after the animals. (= It was necessary to look after the animals.)
–They didn’t need to work hard. (= It wasn’t necessary to work hard.)
?Did they need to grow their own food? (= Was it necessary to grow their own food?)
Orders and advice
We use must, should, ought to and could to give advice
Advice
In the negative, we use shouldn’t or ought not to:
You shouldn’t sign the letter.
You ought not to go there.
We don’t use couldn’t to give advice.
not You couldn’t sign the letter.
the right thing to do
We use should and ought to when we are talking about the right thing to do:
I should learn to cook.
We ought to send her a postcard.
I shouldn’t worry so much.
I ought not to eat that cake.
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