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Omar Ahmed Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Perplexing sentences

1- Tom and Jones..........be home by eight. This is a family rule.

a) must b) have to

2- I .......leave now as my flight is about to take off.

a) must b) have to

3- Engineers.........repair the broken bridge immediately.

a) must b) have to c) need to

4- You .........phone him before 3 p.m. He won't be available after that.

a) must b) have to

5- You.................phone him now. It is very urgent.

a) must b) have to

My answers

1- have to (Is it OK if I choose 'must' in this sentence? I really need to know the difference between 'must' and 'have to' when we talk about laws and rules.)

2- have to 3- have to (But I do feel that 'need to' is also OK)

4- a 5- b

In fact, the difference between 'must' and 'have to' is not clear to me, especially when we use them to talk about laws and rules.

  

Top answer

Omar Ahmed I really need to know the difference between 'must' and 'have to' when we talk about laws and rules. There is some truth in the claim that, in BrE, 'must' is used for an obligation imposed by the speaker/writer, and 'have to for obligations imposed by someone else. But only 'some'.

— Fivejedjon

  • Omar Ahmed I really need to know the difference between 'must' and 'have to' when we talk about laws and rules.
  • There is some truth in the claim that, in BrE, 'must' is used for an obligation imposed by the speaker/writer, and 'have to for obligations imposed by someone else.
  • But only 'some'.
  • While you will seldom sound unnatural if you use the words in this way, you will find many native speakers do not.
  • Exercises such as the one you have asked about are, in my opinion, unhelpful.
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2 Answers
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Omar AhmedI really need to know the difference between 'must' and 'have to' when we talk about laws and rules.

There is some truth in the claim that, in BrE, 'must' is used for an obligation imposed by the speaker/writer, and 'have to for obligations imposed by someone else.


But only 'some'. While you will seldom sound unnatural if you us

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Americans would use 'have to' for all of those, possibly 'must' for the first one as it is a rule. We tend to reserve 'must' for logical deductions and public signage.

'need to' is also good for the item that allows it.

I have commented elsewhere on this forum on the American usage of 'must' and 'have to'. See

CJ

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