Modals · CEFR A2 · Everyday
must / have to — English modal verbs
Necessity. "Have to" is a rule from outside; "must" is you deciding.
The shape
must / have to + plain verb
Say what you have to do, and what the rules are.
In Hindi
ज़रूरत। "Have to" बाहर का नियम है; "must" अपना फ़ैसला।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I must to go now. | I must go now. "Must" never takes "to". |
must / have to examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
I have to go home.
मुझे घर जाना है।
also correct: I need to go home.
I have to work.
मुझे काम करना है।
I have to study.
मुझे पढ़ना है।
I have to cook.
मुझे खाना बनाना है।
I have to go now.
मुझे अभी जाना है।
I have to go to the market.
मुझे बाजार जाना है।
I have to get up early.
मुझे जल्दी उठना है।
I have to go to the doctor.
मुझे डॉक्टर के पास जाना है।
I have to talk to him.
मुझे उससे बात करनी है।
also correct: I have to talk to her.
I have to finish this work.
मुझे यह काम पूरा करना है।
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- need to / needn'tA2Say what is necessary, and what is not
- have got toB1Say you must do something, the way people speak
- must have / can't haveB2Work out what happened from the evidence
Questions people ask
- What is the must / have to used for?
- Necessity. "Have to" is a rule from outside; "must" is you deciding. In practice: say what you have to do, and what the rules are.
- How do you form the must / have to?
- must / have to + plain verb.
- What is the most common mistake with the must / have to?
- Saying “I must to go now.” instead of “I must go now.”. "Must" never takes "to".
Where must / have to fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
must / have to is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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