Ought/shouldcompared to must and have to

A Differences in use

1 ought/shouldis used to express the subject's obligation or duty:

You should send in accurate income tax returns or to indicate a correct or sensible action:

They shouldn 't allow parking here; the street is too narrow.

This word is spelt wrongly. There should be another 's'. Here there is neither the speaker's authority, as with must,or external authority, as with have to(see 145). It is more a matter of conscience or good sense:

PIANIST TO PUPIL: You must practise at least an hour a day.

PUPIL TO MUSICAL FRIEND: / have to practise an hour a day!

MUSICAL FRIEND: You ought to/should practise for more than

an hour.

2 Another difference beween ought/should and must and have tois that with mustand have towe normally have the impression that the obligation is being or will be fulfilled. This is particularly the case with the first person but quite often applies to the other persons too. With ought/shouldwe do not necessarily feel that the obligation is being or will be fulfilled. Quite often, especially in the first person, the reverse is the case.

If a driver says / ought to/should go slowly here; it's a built-up area he usually implies that he isn't going to go slowly. If he really intended to go slowly he would say, / must go-/I have to go/I will have to go slowly here.

Similarly, if someone says We must have a party to celebrate your engagement, his friends are reasonably confident that there will be a party. But if he says We should hare a party ... it is not so certain that the party will take place. His tone or expression might indicate that it will not be possible.

B Similarities in use

1 should(but not ought)can be used in formal notices and on information sheets etc.:

Candidates should be prepared to answer questions on . . .

Intending travellers should be in possession of the following

documents . . .

On hearing the alarm bell, hotel guests should leave their rooms . . . must could be used here without change of meaning, but shouldexpresses the obligation more gently.

2 ought and shouldcan express advice:

You ought to/should read this. It's very good. But for more emphatic advice mustis better: You must read this. It's marvellous!

142 ought/shouldwith the continuous infinitive

ought/shouldwith the continuous infinitive expresses the idea that the subject is not fulfilling his obligations or that he is acting foolishly, rashly etc. or not acting sensibly, prudently etc.:

He ought to be studying for his exam. He shouldn't be spending all

his time on the beach.

We should be wearing seat belts. (But we are not wearing them.)

/ shouldn't be telling you this. It's supposed to be a secret.

143 ought/shouldwith the perfect infinitive

This construction is used to express an unfulfilled obligation or a sensible action that was neglected. In the negative it expresses a wrong or foolish action in the past.

You ought to have told him that the paint on that seat was wet.

You should have turned his omelette; he likes it turned.

They ought to have stopped at the traffic lights.

She shouldn't have opened the letter; it wasn 't addressed to her.

The Emergency Exit doors shouldn't have been blocked.

144 mustand have to:forms

A must

mustis a modal verb (see 107 B). It is used in the present or future.

Negative: must not/mustn't

Interrogative: must I? etc.

Negative interrogative: must I not/mustn't I? etc.

The past tense is supplied by had to.

musttakes the bare infinitive.

It can express obligation and emphatic advice:

father: You must get up earlier in the morning, (obligation) You must take more exercise. Join a squash club, (advice)

B have to

C Difference between the starred have toforms

have to(without got) and its negative don't/doesn't have toare the correct forms for habitual actions but can be used for single actions also, and are common in American English. have (got) toand haven't (got) toare for single actions only

TOM: / have to go to work every day except Sunday. But I don 7 have to work a full day on Saturday. But on Sunday he could say:

I'm glad I haven't (got) to go to work today or I'm glad I don't have to go to work today

In the past didn't have tocan be used for both habitual and single actions in the past.

hadn't (got) tois used more for single actions. didn't have tois the more generally used form. have toin the affirmative expresses obligation. have toin the negative expresses absence of obligation. This can also be expressed by need not, don't needetc. (see 149).

145Difference between mustand have toin the affirmative A mustexpresses obligation imposed by the speaker:

MOTHER: You must wipe your feet when you come in. have toexpresses external obligation:

small Ben : / have to tape my feet every time I come in. B Second person examples

1 Speaker's authority

MOTHER: You must wear a dress tonight. You can't go to the opera

in those dreadful jeans

EMPLOYER: You must use a dictionary. I'm tired of correcting your

spelling mistakes.

DOCTOR: You must cut down on your smoking,

2 External authority

You have to wear uniform on duty, don't you? You have to train very hard for these big matches, I suppose You 'II have to get up earlier when you start work, won't you ?

You'll have to cross the line by the footbridge.

C Third person examples

Here mustis chiefly used in written orders or instructions:

R AILWAY COMPANY : Passengers must cross the line by the footbridge.

office MANAGER: Staff must be at their desks by 9.00.

REGULATION: A trailer must have two rear lamps. When we are merely stating or commenting on another person's obligations we use have to:

In this office even the senior staff have to be at then desks by 9 00.

She has to make her children 's clothes. She can't afford to buy them.

They'll have to send a diver down to examine the hull.

Tf we used mustinstead of have toabove it might imply that the peaker had authority to order these actions. But mustmay be used when the speaker approves of an obligation:

A driver who has knocked someone down must stop (The speaker

thinks it is the driver's duty to stop.) Or when the speaker feels strongly:

Something must be done to stop these accidents.

D First person examples

In the first person the difference between mustand have tois less important and very often either form is possible:

TYPIST: / must/will have to buy a dictionary.

PATIENT: / must/have to/will have to cut down on my smoking But have tois better for habits:

/ have to take two of these pills a day

and mustis better when the obligations are urgent or seem important to the speaker:

I must tell you about a dream I had last night.

Before we do anything I must find my cheque book.

E Some other examples (all persons)

You must come and see us some time. (This is quite a usual way of

expressing a casual invitation.)

The children have to play in the street till their parents come home.

This sort of thing must stop! (The speaker either has authority or

feels very strongly about it.)

You must write to your uncle and thank him for his nice present.

If there are no taxis we'll have to walk.

If your father was a poor man you'd have to work.

We have to walk our dog twice a day.

NOTICE IN shop WINDOW Closing down sale! Everything must go!

F Affirmative obligations in the past: had to

Here the distinction between the speaker's authority and external authority cannot be expressed and there is only one form, had to:

7 ran out of money and had to borrow from Tom.

You had to pay duty on that, I suppose?

There were no buses so he had to walk.

146 need not and must notin the present and future

need notcan be used for present and future. It has the same form for all persons. (See 148.)

need notexpresses absence of obligation. The speaker gives permission for an action not to be performed or sometimes merely states that an action is not necessary:

EMPLOYER: You needn't make two copies. One will do.

Give them this cheque. They needn 't send me a receipt.

You needn't change (your clothes) Just come as you are.

must notexpresses a negative obligation imposed by the speaker or very emphatic advice:

You mustn 't repeat this to anyone.

NOTICE IN SHOP: Staff must not smoke when serving customers.

You mustn't leave your car unlocked. This place is full of thieves.

147 need not, must notand mustin the present and future

DOCTOR: You needn't go on a diet; but you must eat sensibly and you mustn't overeat.

ZOO notice: Visitors must not feed the animals. RAILWAY NOTICE: Passengers must not walk on the line. You mustn't drive fast. There is a speed limit here. You needn 't drive fast. We 've plenty of time. You needn't strike a match. I can see well enough. You mustn't strike a match. This room is full of gas. SCHOOL NOTICE: The lifts must not be used during Fire Drill. You mustn't wear that dress again. You look terrible in yellow. TEACHER: You needn't read the whole book but you must read the first four chapters.

You must cut down that dead tree or it will fall on your house. DOCTOR: You mustn't take more than two of these pills at once. Three might be fatal.

DOCTOR (to patient's wife): If the pain has gone he needn't take any more of these.

148 need:forms

A needcan be both an auxiliary and an ordinary verb. As an auxiliary it is a semi-modal, i.e. it has both modal and 'ordinary verb' forms. As a modal, its forms are need or need not/needn't for all persons in the present and future and in indirect speech. (See C below.) Interrogative: need I? etc. Negative interrogative: need I not/needn't I? etc. needconjugated as above takes the bare infinitive.

B needas an auxiliary is seldom used in the affirmative except when a negative or interrogative sentence is preceded by an expression which changes the negative or interrogative verb into an affirmative:

/ needn't wear a coat or / don't suppose I need wear a coat.

Need I tell Tom? or Do you think I need tell Tom? It is however sometimes used in fairly formal English with hardly/ scarcely or only:

I need hardly say how' pleased we are to welcome Mr X. (I needn't

say . . .)

You need only touch one of the pictures for all the alarm bells to start

ringing. (If you even touch one of the pictures all the bells . . .)

C 'needn't'in direct speech can be reported unchanged: ' You needn't pay till the 31st' he says/said = He says/said I needn't pay till the 31st. (See also 325 C.)

D needcan also be conjugated as an ordinary verb with negative forms as shown in 149 below. Corresponding have toforms are also shown. For interrogative forms, see 151.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 722