Hi, I'm Anne Marie with Speak Confident English and welcome to your Confident
English Wednesday lesson. Today I need to go to the store. Or I have to go to the
store. I must go to the store. What do you think? Are all of those sentences the
same? Do they mean the same thing with need to, have to, and must? Or are there
some differences in English?
If you're not sure, then be sure to watch today's lesson. We'll talk about how
English speakers use these in real life, so that you can use them in the same way.
Let's start by looking at need to because it's a little bit special, it's a
little bit different from have to and must. A few examples using need to
include: I need to get my haircut; it's out of control. Or I need to call my mom
on her birthday. She really needs to do well on her exam this week. In each of
those examples, when we say need to: I need to,
she needs to, it shows that something is important or it's something that we
should do. And that is the key. It is something that we should do or it's
important to us to do. She needs to do well on her exam this week because it's
important for her future. Maybe it's important for her opportunities to go to
a good university. I need to call my mom on her birthday because it's important
to me and yes, I should do it. It's the polite and loving thing to do to call my
mom on her birthday. Now let's look at how to and must
because there are many situations where both can be used and they have a lot of
similarities. So we'll start with how they are similar and we'll also look at
some differences. With have to and must we're expressing that something is an
obligation, that it's a necessity or responsibility or something that is
required. It's not just important, it is required. For example, I have to get to my
meeting on time or I'm must get to my meeting on time. When we
use those verbs, we're showing that it is an obligation, it is a necessity. Maybe if
I'm late to my meeting, my boss will be angry, maybe I'll get fired from my job
and I don't want to take that risk. It is not only important it is a necessity.
Another example is: you must have a passport to travel abroad or you have to
have a passport to travel abroad. In that situation, it's not only important but it
is a requirement. It's the law. You must or have to have a passport to travel to
another country. In those examples, must and have to are similar to need to but
they focus more or they have a feeling, a connotation of something that is an
obligation, it is a necessity. But we can also use must and have to in some other
similar ways. For example, both can be used to say that something is likely. For
example, maybe one day I go to my office, I walk in and I say oh my gosh it's so
cold in here! The heater has to be broken or the heater must be broken. In those
sentences I'm expressing the likelihood or that I think something is likely. It
is likely that the heater is broken. We also use must and have to
to show emphasis. Emphasis is when we use stress on a word or a syllable to show
its importance, its value. For example, I could say: call me after your exam. I'll
be really curious to know how it went. Or I could add
must or have to to show emphasis. That it's really important to me that you
call, that I truly am curious. For example, you must call me after your exam. I'm
going to be really curious to know how it went. Or you have to call me after
your exam. And finally both must and have to can be used to show that we really
desire something or we really want something. For example, I can say I must
have pizza on my birthday or I have to have pizza on my birthday. It's not
something I eat very often and I really want it on my birthday; it's something I
desire. It's definitely not a requirement. Well, maybe it's a requirement. But it is
something I desire and when I use must or have to it helps me express that. Now
that we've talked about how must and have two are very similar, let's look at
a few differences. Generally speaking, must is more formal which means we don't
use it as often in spoken situations or conversations. Now I did say generally
speaking. That means it's true in general. And there are always exceptions. There
are people who have different preferences when they speak, so you will
hear it in conversation and other speaking situations, but generally we use
have to when we're speaking. And again, generally speaking, I can say that
Americans tend to use have to. So if you're learning American English, you're
traveling to or living in the United States, then you will be more likely to
hear have to in conversations. Now we know that must and have to
both are used for obligation, necessity, and requirement. But is it
something that your boss said you have to do or is it something that you feel
you must do? Is it a rule at the university that you have to turn off
your phone during an exam or must you turn off your phone when you
study because it helps you stay focused? In those questions we're talking about
where or who the obligation comes from. Is it something coming from you, your own
personal obligation or is it an outside authority or rule? A university rule, a
workplace regulation, something your boss said you have to do. Another general rule -
remember general means most of the time but not all the time - must is often used
for those personal obligations. I must turn off my phone when I study because
it's too distracting. And have to is often used for outside authority or
rules. For example, you have to turn off your phone during exams because it's a
university rule or regulation. Okay, let's pause for a moment. How are you
doing? This lesson is a big lesson. There's a lot of information to think
about, a lot of general rules to remember. So let's pause relax for a moment. If you
need to, pause the video, think a little bit about what we've talked about and
then we have one final thing to discuss. Okay if you're ready to go, let's go on
to the very last part of our video. In all of the examples that we've discussed,
we've focused on positive sentences and in positive sentences need to have to
and must are often similar. Must and have to are more similar. But
what happens when we use those in a negative sentence? For example, you
mustn't smoke in the building. If I say you don't have to smoke in the building,
are those two sentences the same? Do they have the same meaning? You mustn't smoke
in the building. You don't have to smoke in the building. No. They definitely do
not have the same meaning and that can be tricky. In positive sentences they
seem very similar but when we use them in a negative form it completely changes
the meaning. When we use must not, it means that something is prohibited. It is
against the rules or against the law. You cannot do it. But if I use have to or
need to in the negative form, for example I don't have to or she doesn't need to,
it means it's your choice. There's no obligation.
There's no rule. It's up to you. So we can definitely say you mustn't smoke in the
building. It's prohibited. It's not allowed; it's unacceptable. Or we could
also say she mustn't be late again or she'll be fired. She mustn't be late
again or she'll be fired. But for have to or need to I could say, I'm so glad I
don't have to get up early on Saturdays or I'm so glad I don't need to get up
early on Saturdays. In those sentences I'm saying that it's my choice. There's
no time I have to get up. I can get up early if I
want. I can get up late if I want. It's my choice. Okay we are finally done with
this lesson and you made it to the end. I'm glad that you did. I know that these
can be really challenging so now I want you to get some practice so that it
becomes easier for you to use these more naturally, in the same ways that native
speakers often use them. In the online lesson, I have a few challenge questions
for you where I want you to create your own example sentences. Use your real-life
using these verbs in some of the situations that I've talked about in
this video. So I have four challenge questions for you in the online lesson.
Make sure that you take a look at those and then share your comments, your
thoughts, practice in the comment section at the bottom of the lesson. It's the
best place to join the discussion and get feedback from me every week. Thank
you so much for joining me. I look forward to seeing your answers to my
challenge questions. And I'll see you next week for your Confident English
Wednesday lesson.