Must
The modal verb must has only one form it is used in present-time contexts with reference to the present of future and in combination with the Perfect infinitive it refers to the past. In past-time contexts this form is used only in reported speech, i.g. the rules of the sequence of tenses are not observed with must.
Must has the following meanings:
1) obligation (from the speaker’s point of view)
E.g. Any real body must have extension in four directions: it must have Length, Breadth, Thickness, and – Duration.
In different contexts must may acquire additional shades of meaning, such as duty or necessity.
In this meaning must is found in affirmative and interrogative sentences and followed only by the simple infinitive.
2) Prohibition
E.g. He must not leave his room for a while. (Он не должен (ему нельзя) выходить из комнаты некоторое время).
This meaning is expressed in negative sentences and must is also followed by the simple infinitive.
3) emphatic advice
E.g. You must come and see us when you’re in London.
You must stop worrying about your son.
You mustn’t give another thought to what he said.
You mustn’t miss the film. It is very interesting.
You must have your hair cut.
It is much too long. You mustn’t cry.
“Andy” – she spoke in a quick, low voice – “of course you must never tell anybody what I told you about Canby yesterday.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
This meaning is found in affirmative and negative sentences and is closely connected with the two above mentioned meanings.
4) supposition implying strong probability
E.g. Watson, we must look upon you as a man of letters.
It must be late as the streets are deserted.
Must in this meaning is found only in affirmative sentences. In Russian this meaning is generally rendered by means of the attitudinal adverbs вероятно, должно быть.
In English this meaning may also be expressed by means of the attitudinal adverb probably.
In this meaning must may be followed by different forms of the infinitive. If reference is made to the present, the Continuous infinitive is used with dynamic verbs.
E.g. The book is not on the shelf. Jane must be reading it. Let’s have something to eat. You must be starving.
If must is followed by the simple infinitive of dynamic verbs, it expresses obligation.
E.g. Jane must read the book. You must stay here.
However, with stative verbs the simple infinitive is used to express supposition.
E.g. He must be over fifty.
He must know all about it as he has read a lot on the subject.
“He must be a Southerner, judging by those trousers,” suggested Harry mischievously. (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Must in combination with the Perfect Infinitive refers the action to the past.
E.g. You must have examined the house very carefully, to find a single pellet of paper.
It must have been his first taste of peace for years.(A. Marshall)
The combination of must with the Perfect Continuous infinitive indicates an action begun in the past and continued into the moment of speaking.
E.g. It must have been raining all the night. There are big puddles in the garden.
However, if must is followed by a stative verb, the Perfect infinitive is used.
E.g. He must have been here since breakfast. He must have known it all along.
When must expresses supposition implying strong probability, its use is restricted in two ways:
a) It is not used with reference to the future. In this case we find attitudinal adverbs in the sentence.
E.g. She must really love you to distraction. He must evidently know all about it
b) It is not used in the interrogative or negative forms. It is found only in the affirmative form.
Must needs denotes obligation.
E.g. He must needs go there. (Он непременно должен пойти туда.)
“I think you must ask somebody else to your party instead of Henry, Jim” (B. J. Chute)
“Yes, but I must wash before dinner,” Jimmy said and added, “You’re lucky. Dirt doesn’t show on you.” (B.J. Chute)
I must be going and I must be off both mean – it is time for me to go (in Russian – мне пора уходить).
I must tell you that … and I must say … are stereotyped phrases in which the meaning of obligation is considerably weakened in must.
In the sentences: You must come and see me some time You must come and have a dinner with me. You must come to our party. You must come and stay with us for the weekend and the like, the meaning of obligation in must is also weakened. Must has become part of such sentences which are a common way of expressing invitations.
Must and May compared
Must and may can be compared in two meanings:
1) Both may and must serve to express supposition but their use is not parallel. May denotes supposition implying uncertainty whereas the supposition expressed by must implies strong probability
E.g. For all I know, he may be an actor. His face seems so familiar. He must be an actor. His voice carries so well. I saw him an hour ago. He may still be in his office now. He always comes at 10 sharp. So he must be in his office now.
They must be satisfied with going to the piers… (M. Spark)
2) May and must are used to express prohibition in negative sentences. But may is seldom found in this meaning. In negative answers to questions with may asking for permission we generally find must not or cannot.
E.g. ‘May I smoke here?” “No, you mustn’t (you can’t).
To have to
To have to as a modal verb is not a defective verb and can have all the necessary finite forms as well as the verbal.
E.g. He is an invalid and has to have a nurse.
She knew what she had to do.
He frightened her – I had to yield him my last date before Bill came. (F. Scott Fitzgerald0
I shall have to reconsider my position.
He is always having to exercise judgment.
My impression was that he was having to force himself to talk.
I have had to remind you of writing to her all this time.
The women at barfed had had to be told that an experiment was taking place that day. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “I’ve been having to spend some time with the research people.”
It wouldn’t have been very nice for the David’s sons to have to mix with all those people in the smoking-room.
Having to work alone, he wanted all his time for his research.
The interrogative and negative forms of the modal verb to have to are built up by means of the auxiliary verb to do.
E.g. Why do I have to do everything?
Did he have to tell them about it?
“That is all right,” she said. “I just thought I’d ask. You don’t have to explain.”
There was a grim on his face. He did not have to tell me that he already knew.
The verb to have to serves to express obligation or necessity imposed by circumstances.
It is rendered is Russian as приходится, вынужден.
In this meaning it is found in all kinds of sentences – affirmative, interrogative and negative – and is combined only with the simple infinitive.
E.g. I am afraid you will have to go to the court.
They will have him back. (Они заставят его вернуться)
Did he have to do it? He did not have to do it.
If you go abroad, no matter how you are traveling, you have to go through the customs. (M. Spark)
The negotiations might fail. In that event the Government would have to decide what to do. (Morning star)
I have to revise other ideas about her. (F. Scott Fitzgerald0
In negative sentences to have to denotes absence of necessity.
E.g. You don’t have to go there. (Вам нет необходимости идти туда).
You mustn’t go there. (Вам нельзя идти туда).
In spoken English the meaning of obligation and necessity is also expressed by have (has) got to. Like the verb to have to it is found in all kinds of sentences and is combined with the simple infinitive.
E.g. He has got to go right now.
Has he got to go right now?
He hasn't got to go just yet.
This combination may also be found in the past tense, though it is not very common.
E.g. He had got to sell his car.
A few drops begun to fall “We’d better take shelter,’ she said. (Нам лучше укрыться).
She didn’t like to say that she thought they had better not play cards when the guest might come in at any moment.
Had better is followed by the infinitive without to.
We can compare the usage of this verb in American and British literature:
You’ve got to be kidding – American English.
You’ve got to be joking – British English.
To be to
To be to as a modal verb is used in the present and past tenses.
E.g. We are to meet at six.
We were to meet at six.
To be to as a modal verb has the following meanings:
1) a previously arranged plan or obligation resulting from the arrangement
E.g. We are to discuss it the following week.
Is he to arrive tomorrow?
Who was to speak at the meeting?
Mass struggle is vital if the elimination of the evils of racial hatred is to be guaranteed.(Daily Worker)
This meaning of to be to is found in affirmative and interrogative sentences in the present and past tenses. To be to is followed by the simple infinitive.
The past tense of the verb to be to in combination with the Perfect infinitive denotes an unfulfilled plan.
E.g. I promised to go to a club with her last Tuesday, and I really forgot all about it. We were to have played a duet together.
2) orders and instructions, often official (frequently in reported speech).
E.g. I just mention it because you said I was to give you all the details I could.
Norman says I am to leave you alone. All junior officers are to report to the colonel at once.
The Prime Minister is to go to Paris next week. (Daily Worker, London)
In this meaning to be to is found is affirmative and negative sentences and followed by the simple infinitive.
3) something that is destined to happen
E.g. He was to be my teacher and friend for many years to come.
He did not know at the time that he was never to see his native place again.
How was I to know that I was going to meet a raging beauty?
It has been a great blow to me that you haven’t been able to follow me in my business as I followed by father. Three generations, that would have been. But it wasn’t to be.
This meaning of to be to is rendered in Russian as суждено. It is mainly found in the past tense and its application is limited to narration. It occurs in affirmative and negative sentences and is followed by the simple infinitive.
4) Possibility
E.g. Her father was often to be seen in the bar of the Hotel Metropole.
Where is he to be found?
Nothing was to be done under the circumstances.
Responsibilities and obligations possessed by the Soviet trade unions are to be envied. (Morning Star)
In this meaning to be to is equivalent to can or may. It is used in all kinds of sentences in the present and past tenses and is followed by the passive infinitive.
Here are some examples taken from the literary works:
‘Tell him to go to sleep’. – ‘She says you’re to go to sleep’. (D.H. Lawrence).
I could scarcely see her in the darkness, but when I rose to go – it was plain that I was not to linger – she stood in the orange light from the doorway. (F Scott Fitzgerald)
Must, to have to and to be to Compared.
The verbs must, to have to and to be to have one meaning in common, that of obligation. In the present tense the verbs come very close to each other in their use, though they preserve their specific shades of meaning. Thus must indicates obligation or necessity from the speaker’s viewpoint, i.e. it expresses obligation imposed by the speaker.
E.g. I must do it. (I want to do it).
He must do it himself.
To have to expresses obligation or necessity imposed by circumstances.
E.g. What a pity you have to go now (It is time for you to catch you train).
He has to do it himself. (He has got no one to help him).
To be to expresses obligation or necessity resulting from an arrangement.
E.g. We are to wait for them at the entrance. (We have arranged to meet there, so we must wait form them at the appointed place).
Sometimes the idea of obligation is absent and to be to expresses only a previously arranged plan.
E.g. We are to go the cinema tonight.
In the past tense, however, the difference in the use of the three verbs is quite considerable.
Must has no past tense. It is used in past-time contexts only in reported speech.
E.g. He said he must do it himself.
Had to + infinitive is generally used to denote an action which was realized in the past as a result of obligation or necessity imposed by circumstance.
E.g. I had to sell my car. (It was necessary for me to do it because I needed money).
He had to put on his raincoat. (It was raining hard outside and he would have got wet if he had not).
Was (were) to + infinitive is used to denote an action planned for the future which is viewed from the past. The action was no realized in the past and the question remains open as to whether it is going to take place.
E.g. We were to meet him at the station. (It is not clear from the sentence if the action will take place).
If the speaker wishes to make it clear at once that the plan was not fulfilled, the Perfect infinitive is used to show that.
E.g. We were to have met him t the station. (That means that we failed to meet him). However, the simple infinitive may also be used in this case.
In reported speech (in past-time contexts) must remains unchanged in all of its meanings.
E.g. He said he must do it without delay.
He said I mustn’t tell anyone about it.
The doctor told her that she must eat.
They believed the story must be true.
Parallel to must, had to + infinitive is also used occasionally in reported speech to express obligation.
E.g. He said he had to make a telephone call at once.
In this case had to is close to must in meaning: it does not include the idea of a realized action but refers to some future moment.
Ought to
The modal verb ought to has only one form which is used “with reference to the present of future. In reported speech it remains unchanged. Ought is always followed by the infinitive with to.
Ought to has the following meanings:
1) obligation, which in different contexts may acquire additional shades of meaning, such as advisability and desirability,
E.g. You ought to say a word or two about yourself.