1. (I don't know if Ann will come to the party.) Ann might not come to the party.
2. (I don't know if I'll go out this evening.) I ---
3. (I don't know if Tom will like the present I bought for him.)
Tom ---
4. (I don't know if Sue will be able to meet us this evening.) ---
30.5 Read the situations and make sentences with may/might as well.
1. You and a friend have just missed the bus. The buses run every hour.
You say: We'll have to wait an hour for the next bus. _We might as well waik._
2. You have a free ticket for a concert. You're not very keen on the concert but you decide to go. You say: I --- to the concert. It's a pity to waste a free ticket.
3. You're in a cafe with a friend. You've finished your drinks. It's a nice cafe and there is no reason to go now, so why not have another drink? You say: We ---. What would you like?
4. You and a friend are at home. You are bored. There's a film on TV starting in a few minutes. You say: ---. There's nothing else to do.
UNIT 31.Must and have to
A. We use must and have to to say that it is necessary to do something. Sometimes it doesn't matter which you use:
* Oh, it's later than I thought. I must go. or I have to go.
But there is a difference between must and have to and sometimes this is important:
Must is personal. We use must when we give our personal feelings.
'You must do something' = 'I (the speaker) say it is necessary':
* She's a really nice person. You must meet her. (= I say this is necessary)
* I haven't phoned Ann for ages. I must phone her tonight.
Compare:
* I must get up early tomorrow. There are a lot of things I want to do.
Have to is impersonal. We use have to for facts, not for our personal feelings.
'You have to do something' because of a rule or the situation:
* You can't turn right here. You have to turn left. (because of the traffic system)
* My eyesight isn't very good. I have to wear glasses for reading.
* George can't come out with us this evening. He has to work.
* I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm going away and my train leaves at 7.30.
If you are not sure which to use, it is usually safer to use have to.
B. you can use must to talk about the present or future, but not the past:
* We must go now.
* We must go tomorrow. (but not 'We must go yesterday')
You can use have to in all forms. For example:
* I had to go to hospital. (past)
* Have you ever had to go to hospital? (present perfect)
* I might have to go to hospital. (infinitive after might)
In questions and negative sentences with have to, we normally use do/does/did:
* What do I have to do to get a driving licence? (not 'What have I to do?')
* Why did you have to go to hospital?
* Karen doesn't have to work on Saturdays.
C. Mustn't and don't have to are completely different:
You mustn't do something = it is necessary that you do not do it (so, don't do it):
* You must keep it a secret. You mustn't tell anyone. (= don't tell anyone)
* I promised I would be on time. I mustn't be late. (= I must be on time)
You don't have to do something = you don't need to do it (but you can if you want):
* You can tell me if you want but you don't have to tell me. (= you don't need to tell me)
* I'm not working tomorrow, so I don't have to get up early.
D. You can use 'have got to' instead of 'have to'. So you can say:
* I've got to work tomorrow. or have to work tomorrow.
* When has Ann got to go? or When does Ann have to go?
EXERCISES
31.1 Complete these sentences with must or have to (in the correct form). Sometimes it is possible to use either; sometimes only have to is possible.
1. It's later than I thought. I must or have to go now.
2. Jack left before the end of the meeting. He had to go home early.
3. In Britain many children. --- wear uniform when they go to school.
4. When you come to London again, you --- come and see us.
5. Last night Don became ill suddenly. We --- call a doctor.
6. You really --- work harder if you want to pass the examination.
7. I'm afraid I can't come tomorrow. I.. --- work late.
8. I'm sorry I couldn't come yesterday. I --- work late.
9. Paul doesn't like his new job. Sometimes he --- work at weekends.
10. Caroline may --- go away next week.
11. We couldn't repair the car ourselves. We --- take it to a garage.
12. Julia wears glasses. She --- wear glasses since she was very young.
31.2 Make questions with have to.
1. I had to go to hospital last week. Why did you have to go to hospital?
2. I have to get up early tomorrow. Why --- early?
3. Ann has to go somewhere now. Where --- she ---.
4. George had to pay a parking fine yesterday. How much ---.
5. I had to wait a long time for the bus. How long ---.
6. I have to phone my sister now. Why ---
7. Paul has to leave soon. What time ---
31.3 Complete these sentences using don't/doesn't/didn't have to + one of these verbs:
do get up go go pay shave wait work
1. I'm not working tomorrow, so I _don't have to get up_ to early.
2. The car park is free-you --- to park your car there.
3. I went to the bank this morning. There was no queue, so I ---.
4. Sally is extremely rich. She ---.
5. We've got plenty of time. We --- yet.
6. Jack has got a beard, so he ---.
7., I'm not particularly busy. I've got a few things to do but I ---them now.
8. A man was slightly injured in the accident but he --- to hospital.
31.4 Complete these sentences with mustn't or don't/doesn't have to.
1. I don't want anyone to know. You _mustn't_ tell anyone.
2 He doesn't have to wear a suit to work but he usually does.
3. I can stay in bed tomorrow morning because I --- go to work.
4. Whatever you do, you --- touch that switch. It's very dangerous.
5. There's a lift in the building, so we --- climb the stairs.
6. You --- forget what I told you. It's very important.
7. Sue --- get up early. She gets up early because she wants to,
8. Don't make so much noise. We --- wake the baby.
9. I --- eat too much. I'm supposed to be on a diet.
10. You --- be a good player to enjoy a game of tennis.
UNIT 32. Must mustn't needn't
A. Must mustn't needn't
'You must do something' = it is necessary that you do it:
* Don't tell anybody what I said. You must keep it a secret.
* We haven't got much time. We must hurry.
'You mustn't do something' = it is necessary that you do not do it (so don't do it):
* You must keep it a secret. You mustn't tell anybody else. (= don't tell anybody else)
* It's essential that nobody hears us. We mustn't make any noise.
'You needn't do something' = it is not necessary that you do it, you don't need to do it:
* You can come with me if you like but you needn't come if you don't want to. (= it is not necessary for you to come)
* We've got plenty of time. We needn't hurry. (= it is not necessary to hurry)
B. Instead of needn't, you can use don't/doesn't need to. So you can say:
* We needn't hurry. or We don't need to hurry.
Remember that we say 'don't need to do', but 'needn't do' (without to).
Needn't and don't need to are similar to don't have to (see Unit 31C):
* We've got plenty of time. We don't have to hurry.
C. Needn't have (done)
Study this example situation:
I think it's going to rain. I'll take the umbrella.
I needn't have brought the umbrella.
George had to go out. He thought it was going to rain, so he decided to take the umbrella.
But it didn't rain, so the umbrella was not necessary. So:
He needn't have taken the umbrella.
'He needn't have taken the umbrella' = He took the umbrella but this was not necessary. Of course, he didn't know this when he went out.
Compare needn't (do) and needn't have (done):
* That shirt isn't dirty. You needn't wash it.
* Why did you wash that shirt? It wasn't dirty. You needn't have washed it.
D. Didn't need to (do) and needn't have (done)
I didn't need to ... = it was not necessary for me to... (and I knew this at the time):
* I didn't need to get up early, so I didn't.
* I didn't need to get up early, but it was a lovely morning, so I did.
'I needn't have (done) something' = I did something but now I know that it was not necessary:
* I got up very early because I had to get ready to go away. But in fact it didn't take me long to get ready. So, I needn't have got up so early. I could have stayed in bed longer.
EXERCISES
32.1 Complete the sentences using needn't + one of these verbs:
ask come explain leave tell walk
1. We've got plenty of time. We _needn't leave_ yet.
2. I can manage the shopping alone. You --- with me.
3. We --- all the way home. We can get a taxi.
4. just help yourself if you'd like something to eat. You --- first.
5. We can keep this a secret between ourselves. We --- anybody else.
6. I understand the situation perfectly. You --- further.
32.2 Complete the sentences with must, mustn't or needn't.
1. We haven't got much time. We _must_ hurry.
2. We've got plenty of time. We _needn't_ hurry.
3. We have enough food at home so we --- go shopping today.
4. Jim gave me a letter to post. I --- remember to post it.
5. Jim gave me a letter to post. I --- forget to post it.
6. There's plenty of time for you to make up your mind. You --- decide now.
7. You --- wash those tomatoes. They've already been washed.
8. This is a valuable book. You --- look after it carefully and you ---lose it.
9. 'What sort of house do you want to buy? Something big?' 'Well, it --- be big--that's not important. But it --- have a nice garden--that's essential.'
32.3 Read the situations and make sentences with needn't have.
1. George went out. He took an umbrella because he thought it was going to rain. But it didn't rain. He needn't have taken an umbrella.
2. Ann bought some eggs when she went shopping. When she got home, she found that she already had plenty of eggs. She ---.
3. A friend got angry with you and shouted at you. You think this was unnecessary. Later you say to him/her: You ---.
4. Brian had no money, so he sold his car. A few days later he won some money in a lottery. He ---.
5. When we went on holiday, we took the camera with us but we didn't use it in the end. ---.
6. I thought I was going to miss my train so I rushed to the station. But the train was late and in the end I had to wait 20 minutes. ---.
32.4 Write two sentences for each situation. Use needn't have in the first sentence and could have in the second (as in the example). For could have see Unit 27.
1. Why did you rush? Why didn't you take your time?
_You needn't have rushed. You could have taken your time._
2. Why did you walk home? Why didn't you take a taxi?
3. Why did you stay at a hotel? Why didn't you stay with us?
4. Why did she phone me in the middle of the night? Why didn't she phone me in the morning?
5. Why did you leave without saying anything? Why didn't you say goodbye to me?
UNIT 33. Should (1)
A. You should do something = it Is a good thing to do or the right thing to do. You can use should to give advice or to give an opinion:
* You look tired. You should go to bed.
* The government should do more to help homeless people.
* 'Should we invite Susan to the party?' 'Yes, I think we should.'
We often use should with I think/I don't think/Do you think...?:
* I think the government should do more to help homeless people.
* I don't think you should work so hard.
* 'Do you think I should apply for this job?' 'Yes, I think you should.'
'You shouldn't do something' = it isn't a good thing to do:
* You shouldn't believe everything you read in the newspapers.
Should is not as strong as must:
* You should apologise. (= it would be a good thing to do)
* You must apologise. (= you have no alternative)
B. We also use should when something is not right or what we expect. For example:
* I wonder where Liz is. She should be here by now. (= she isn't here yet, and this is not normal)
* The price on this packet is wrong. It should be L1.20, not L1.50.
* Those boys shouldn't be playing football at this time. They should be at school.
We use should to say that we expect something to happen:
* She's been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass. (= I expect her to pass)
* There are plenty of hotels in the town. It shouldn't be difficult to find somewhere to stay. (= I don't expect that it will be difficult)
C. 'You should have done something' = you didn't do it but it would have been the right thing to do:
* It was a great party last night. You should have come. Why didn't you? (= you didn't come but it would have been good to come)
* I'm feeling sick. I shouldn't have eaten so much chocolate. (= I ate too much chocolate)
* I wonder why they're so late. They should have been here an hour ago.
* She shouldn't have been listening to our conversation. It was private.
Compare should (do) and should have (done):
* You look tired. You should go to bed now.
* You went to bed very late last night. You should have gone to bed earlier.
D. Ought to ...
You can use ought to instead of should in the sentences on this page. Note that we say 'ought to do...' (with to):
* Do you think I ought to apply for this job? (= Do you think I should apply ...?)
* Jack ought not to go to bed so late. (= Jack shouldn't go ...)
* It was a great party last night. You ought to have come.
* She's been studying hard for the exam, so she ought to pass.
EXERCISES
33.1 For each situation write a sentence with should or shouldn't + one of the following.
go away for a few days go to bed so late look for another job put some pictures on the walls take a photograph use her car so much
1. (Liz needs a change.) _She should go away for a few days._
2. (My salary is very low.) You ---.
3. (Jack always has difficulty getting up.) He ---.
4. (What a beautiful view!) You---.
5. (Sue drives everywhere. She never walks.) She ---.
6. (Bill's room isn't very interesting.) ---.
33.2 Read the situations and write sentences with I think/I don't think ... should...
1. Peter and Judy are planning to get married. You think it's a bad idea. (get married) _I don't think they should get married._
2. You don't like smoking, especially in restaurants. (be banned) I think ---.
3. I have a very bad cold but I plan to go out this evening. You don't think this is a good idea. You say to me: (go out) ---.
4. You are fed up with the government. You think they have made too many mistakes. (resign) ---.
33.3 Complete the sentences with should (have) + the verb in brackets.
1. Margaret should pass the exam. She's been studying very hard. (pass)
2. You missed a great party last night. You should have come. (come)
3. We don't see you enough. You --- and see us more often. (come)
4. I'm in a difficult position. What do you think I ---? (do)
5. I'm sorry that I didn't take your advice. I --- what you said. (do)
6. I'm playing tennis with Jill tomorrow. She --- she's much better than me. (win)
7. We lost the match but we ---. We were the better team. (win)
8. 'Is John here yet?' 'Not yet, but he --- here soon.' (be)
9. I posted the letter three days ago, so it --- by now. (arrive)
33.4 Read the situations and write sentences with should/shouldn't. Some of the sentences are past and some are present.
1. I'm feeling sick. I ate too much. _I shouldn't have eaten so much._
2. That man on the motorbike isn't wearing a helmet. That's dangerous.