MUST/ HAVE TO/ SHOULD (obligation)

MUST: es un verbo modal que expresa la obligacin de hacer algo. Como todos los modales
va seguido de otro infinitivo sin to.
Afirmativa
I must work
You must work
He/she/it must work
We must work
You must work
They must work

Interrogativa
respuesta breve +

respuesta breve -

Must I work?

Yes, I must

No, I mustnt

Must you work?

Yes, you must

No, you mustnt

Must he / she / it work?

Yes, he / she / it must

No, he / she / it mustnt

Must we work?

Yes, we must

No, we mustnt

Must you work?

Yes, you must

No, you mustnt

Must they work?

Yes, they must

No, they mustnt

- Must slo tiene forma de presente. Por ello, para cualquier otro tiempo se utiliza have to:
- Ill have to work next Sunday.
- She had to clean all the house.

 HAVE TO: Indica obligacin, al igual que must.

Afirmativa
I have to work

we have to work

You have to work

you have to work

He/she/it has to work

they have to work

Interrogacin
respuesta breve +

respuesta breve -

Do I have to work?

Yes, I do

No, I dont

Do you have to work?

Yes, you do

No, you dont

Does he / she / it have to work? Yes, he / she / it does

No, he / she / it doesnt

Existe una pequea diferencia de significado entre must y have to:

Must indica una obligacin que se impone uno mismo, ms que las circunstancias:
- I must study for the exam.
- He must work more to have enough money.
Have to, en cambio, expresa una necesidad impuesta por las circunstancias externas:
- She has to get up at 7 every morning.
- We have to work till 6 on Mondays.

Musnt and dont have to

Mustnt se utiliza para expresar prohibicin. Al igual que must, va seguido de un infinitivo sin
to:
- I mustnt be late for dinner.
- He mustnt go out without telling his parents.
- We musnt talk during the exam.
- You mustnt tell anyone.

Dont have to expresa que no es necesario u obligatorio hacer algo.

Ejemplos:
- You dont have to do the shopping. Ill do it tomorrow.
- He doesnt have to go to school at weekends.
- They dont have to wash by hand because theyve got a washing machine

SHOULD: Se usa should + el infinitivo sin to

Afirmativa
I
you
he/she/it + should + infinitivo sin to
we
they
EJEMPLO: He should work harder. (Debera trabajar m,s).
Negativa
Se usa shouldn't con todas las personas sin cambiar su forma
I
you
he/she/it + shouldn't + infinitivo sin to
we
they
EJEMPLO: We shouldn't arrive late. (No deberamos llegar tarde).
Preguntas
Should + sujeto + verbo infinitivo sin to
EJEMPLO: Should I study this chapter for the exam? (Debera estudiar este captulo para el
examen?)
Repuestas cortas
Should I go to the party?
Yes you should.
No you shouldn't.
Se usa:
1. Para dar consejos
EJEMPLO You should do your homework. (Deberas hacer tus deberes)
2. Para expresar tu opinin sobre lo que alguien debera hacer en una situacin
EJEMPLO I think you should work harder. (creo que deberas trabajar ms)
3. Para hablar del pasado se usa should have + participio pasado
EJEMPLO You should have told me you were going to arrive late. (Deberas haberme dicho que
ibas a llegar tarde).

Fill don't have to, must not, doesn't have to into the right
spaces
'Don't have to' is used to express that something is not required.
'Mustn't' is used to express that something is prohibited.
1. It is forbidden. You ______ do that.
2. You ______ ask my permission. You can do what you want.
3. You ______ speak to the driver when the bus is moving. It's

dangerous.
4. Help yourself to anything you want. You ______ ask.
5. You ______ park here. There is a double yellow line.
6. Pay me back when you can. You ______ do it immediately.
7. It's optional. We ______ to go if you don't want to.
8. I'll tell you a secret. You ______ tell anybody else. Promise?
9. Whatever you do, you ______ click with the right mouse
button or the program will crash.
10. Be on time. You ______ be late or we will leave without you.
11. He's a millionaire. He ______ work but he does because he
enjoys it.
12. I like Saturdays because I ______ go to work.
13. This is very important. You ______ forget what I said.
14. It's very informal here. You ______ wear a tie unless you
want to.
15. The train is direct. You ______ change trains.
16. In boxing, you ______ hit your opponent below the belt.
17. I ______ wear a suit at work on Fridays. It's 'dressing down
day".
18. In athletics, you ______ start before the gun is fired.
19. In bridge, you ______ look at other people's cards.
20. You ______ be mad to work here but it helps.

Modals to express possibility: MAY, MIGHT, CAN, COULD

Present and future
May and might + infinitive are used to express present or future possibility. May
expresses a greater degree of certainty:
You should ask him. He may/might know Susan's telephone number. (Perhaps he knows
her number.)
I may/might see you later. (Perhaps I will see you later.)
You should introduce yourself; he may/might not remember you. (Perhaps she
doesn't/won't remember you.)
May and might are usually not used to introduce a question. Instead, we can use Do you
think? or be likely to/that:
Do you think he may/might know Susan's telephone number?
Are you likely to get here before 8?
Is it likely that you will get here before 8?
Could can be used instead of may and might with the verb be:
You could be right.
They could still be waiting for us.
The negative form couldn't is often used with comparative adjectives:
The food is delicious, and the staff couldn't be more polite. (they are very polite)
Except for this use, couldn't expresses negative deduction, not possibility:
It's only 10 o'clock. He couldn't be at home. (He is usually at work at this time of the
day.)
Can may express general possibility:
Winters in Minnesota can be really cold.

Past
May, might and could + perfect infinitive express uncertainty with reference to past
actions:
We haven't heard from him for ten years. He may/might/could have died. (Perhaps he
has died, but we don't know.)
But when we want to say that something was possible but did not happen, we use might
or could:
He was very careless when crossing the road. He might/could have died. (He didn't
die.)
I could have caught the bus if I had hurried. (I didn't hurry, so I didn't catch the bus.)
Couldn't + perfect infinitive is often used with comparative adjectives:
It was a great year, and I couldn't have been happier. (I was very happy)
May/might not + perfect infinitive is used for uncertainty, but could not + perfect
infinitive (except for the case above) expresses deduction:
I had better call Anne. She may/might not have read my e-mail. (uncertainty)
It couldn't have been John you saw this morning. He is away on holiday. (deduction)