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Nsfs2 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Have to vs must
Hi,
A school book explaining the difference between 'must' and 'have to' puts it this way:
'Use 'must' when you feel strongly that something is right/wrong.'Eg:
'You must be more careful with your money.' (I feel strongly that this is right.)
'Use 'have to' when you wish to say that something is necessary.'Eg:
'Most people have to work to earn money.'(This is necessary.)
Then the book introduces the following task for the students in which they are asked to choose the right word:
1# 'It's necessary to use a password for the bank website.'You (must, have to)...
2# 'If you earn money, I think it's right that you pay tax.' If you earn money, you (must, have to)...
What made me wonder was that the 'Answer Key' provided the answers: ' must' for 1# and 'have to' for 2# ,which I found,to my understanding, not consistent with what they explained in the rule.
I don't know;I maybe wrong, but I didn't feel comfortable and I had to write hoping you can help.
Thanks.
A school book explaining the difference between 'must' and 'have to' puts it this way:
'Use 'must' when you feel strongly that something is right/wrong.'Eg:
'You must be more careful with your money.' (I feel strongly that this is right.)
'Use 'have to' when you wish to say that something is necessary.'Eg:
'Most people have to work to earn money.'(This is necessary.)
Then the book introduces the following task for the students in which they are asked to choose the right word:
1# 'It's necessary to use a password for the bank website.'You (must, have to)...
2# 'If you earn money, I think it's right that you pay tax.' If you earn money, you (must, have to)...
What made me wonder was that the 'Answer Key' provided the answers: ' must' for 1# and 'have to' for 2# ,which I found,to my understanding, not consistent with what they explained in the rule.
I don't know;I maybe wrong, but I didn't feel comfortable and I had to write hoping you can help.
Thanks.
Top answer
The book's explanation is not an accurate picture of how people use these words. Abd the writers have got the answers wrong by their own rules! It is not possible to give a simple explanation of must and have to ; we don't all use them in the same way.
- The book's explanation is not an accurate picture of how people use these words.
- Abd the writers have got the answers wrong by their own rules!
- It is not possible to give a simple explanation of must and have to ; we don't all use them in the same way.
- A reasonably accurate description of what we do in British English is: We use must when the speaker/writer imposes the obligation.
- We use have to when somebody else imposes the obligation.
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3 Answers
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The book's explanation is not an accurate picture of how people use these words. Abd the writers have got the answers wrong by their own rules!
It is not possible to give a simple explanation of must and have to; we don't all use them in the same way. A reasonably accurate description of what we do in British English is:
We use must when the speaker/
It is not possible to give a simple explanation of must and have to; we don't all use them in the same way. A reasonably accurate description of what we do in British English is:
We use must when the speaker/
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fivejedjon the writers have got the answers wrong by their own rules!That's what I felt.
Thanks.
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nsfs2A school book explaining the difference between 'must' and 'have to' ...If you're interested in American usage, see the thread at Must & have to
CJ
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