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Must

The modal verb must translates the Italian Present simple tense of “dovere”.
Il verbo modale must traduce il presente indicativo del verbo italiano dovere.

Affirmative Interrogative Negative


Subject + must + must + Subject + infinitive Subject + must not/ musn’t +
infinitive without to without to infinitive without to

Must is used to express. Must viene usato per esprimere:

1. An order, a strong obligation. Un ordine, un obbligo forte.


You must be obedient. Devi essere obbediente.

2. Something that you or any person feels is necessary. Un obbligo forte, qualcosa
che tu o una persona sente che è necessario fare.
I must get up early, if I want to be on time. Devo alzarmi presto, se voglio arrivare
in tempo.

3. A recommendation. Una raccomandazione.


You must listen to that song. It’s fantastic. Devi ascoltare quella canzone, è
fantastica.

4. A logical deduction/inference based upon some clear evidence or reason. Una


deduzione logica basata su chiare evidenze (in frase affermativa).
You must be worried that she is so late coming home.
Devi essere (sicuramente sei) preoccupato per il fatto che lei torni a casa così tardi.
It must be nice to live in Rome. Deve essere bello vivere a Roma.

Have to
The verb have to expresses “obligation” and replaces must in all the tenses where
must can’t be used. Il verbo have to esprime dovere/obbligo e sostituisce must in
tutti i tempi in cui non è possibile usare must.

Affirmative Interrogative Negative


Subject + have to+ Do/does + Subject + have Subject + Don’t/doesn’t +
infinitive to + infinitive infinitive

Did you have to tidy your room? Yes, I had to tidy it, my mother was most
obstinate about it.
Hai dovuto mettere in ordine la tua stanza? Sì, ho dovuto ordinarla, mia madre è
stata irremovibile.
She will have to arrive early, if she doesn’t want to be punished.
Dovrà arrivare presto se non vuol essere castigata.
When we use 'have to' in alternative to must (in the present simple), this usually
means that some external circumstance makes the obligation necessary. Quando
usiamo have to in alternativa a must (nel present simple), vuol dire che qualche
circostanza esterna rende l’obbligo necessario.

I have to arrive at school at 8 sharp. My teacher is very strict.


Devo arrivare a scuola alle 8 in punto. La mia professoressa è molto severa.
You have to pass your final test or you won’t be admitted to the following year.
Devi superare l’esame finale altrimenti non sarai ammesso all’anno successivo.

Watch out:
As you can see, the differences between the present forms are sometimes very small
and very subtle. However, there is a huge difference in the negative forms.
Come puoi osservare, le differenze fra le forme presenti (must, have to) sono a volte
molto sottili. C’è invece una grossa differenza nelle forme negative. Osserva:

We use 'mustn't' to express prohibition against doing something:


Usiamo mustn’t per esprimere divieto/proibizione di fare qualcosa:

You mustn't phone him, he is at school. Non devi telefonargli, lui è a scuola.
You musn’t cross the street without looking. Non devi attraversare la strada senza
guardare.

We use 'don't have to' (or 'haven't got to' in British English) to state that there is
NO obligation or necessity. Usiamo 'don't have to' (o 'haven't got to' nell’inglese
britannico) per affermare che non c’è la necessità di fare qualcosa.

You don’t have to phone him. I have already done it.


Non devi telefonargli. L’ho già fatto io.
I don’t have to get up early on Sunday, since there is no school.
Non devo alzarmi presto la domenica, dal momento che non c’è scuola.

*Interactive Exercises
http://www.aulafacil.com/Ingejerc/Lecciones/Ejerc25.htm
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/musthaveto/menu.php
http://www.englishpage.com/modals/interactivemodal2.htm
http://ww2.college-em.qc.ca/prof/epritchard/musthavt.htm
http://www.english-zone.com/verbs/haveto1.html

*Please note the videos:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_IKzasp8jw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5lcmjE2uF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zABlHq0Lb3s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgIjV8dkpp0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaBV9N1w3Kc

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