Every day English

Must and have to

Obligation
‘Have to’ and ‘must’ are concerned with obligation. ‘Must’, ‘mustn’t’ and ‘have to’ tell us what we
are obliged to do or what is forbidden. However, ‘don’t have to’, ‘doesn’t have to’ and ‘didn’t have
to’ all describe a voluntary action – you can choose.

I don’t want to, but I have to go to my brother’s wedding.

You must stop smoking if you ever want to recover.
Children mustn’t go into the kitchen without an adult

We don’t have to eat at college. We can eat in town if you like.

Internal or External obligations?

Many people use ‘have to’ and ‘must’ interchangeably. But, they are a little different. ‘Must’
describes internal obligations – these are the rules which the speaker gives themselves. ‘Have to’
describes external obligations – these are rules from an outside authority to the speaker (e.g. the
government, or parents.)