Okay and hello, and welcome to our Peppy Question of the week. I am Steve at privateenglishportal.com and I will be giving my Peppy Answer.
In case you do not know, Peppy mean Fast. It means quick and I am going to give our Peppy Question and give her a quick Peppy Answer.
And our Peppy Question comes from Chin Chuan from China and, he asks me,
Steve, I do not understand the difference in using the motto “Must” and “Have to”. For me, “Must” and “Have to” mean the same thing.
And his example is “I must study English” and “I have to study English” okay?
Why is it different in a negative? I do not understand, please explain.
Okay, well that is a very, very good question and thank you for emailing that to me. And I will give you very, very clear answer.
You are correct that “I must do something” or “I have to do something”, they both basically mean the same thing.
They are a Modality of Obligation okay? They modify the Verb and tell someone that the both have an obligation to do something. “I must do something”, it means I have an obligation to do it. “I have to do something” once again, I have an obligation to do it okay?
So, both of those mottos, used in the Affirmative give the meaning of the Verb that it is an obligation. So Chin, you are correct when you say that those are the same.
Now, your doubt about how they are different in the negative is as follow okay?
If you say “I musn’t do that”, it is still the same thing. It is a pro-abition okay? So, it is still something that you obligatorily should not do okay? That you musn’t do okay?
But when you say it in the negative “I don’t have to do something” okay?
“I don’t have to do it”, the meaning totally changes in the negative. And when you say “I don’t have to do something”, it means that it is not necessary okay?
So there is a big difference in a negative when we use “Must” and when we use “Have to” okay?
So just repeating in the negative, if I say “I musn’t” or “I must not do something”, it means that I am forbidding from doing it, okay?
But if I say that “I don’t have to do something”, all I am saying is that it is not necessary, okay?
So, as a summary, in a negative, “Must” and “Have to” have different meanings and in the Affirmative, they have the same meaning, okay?
So I hope Chin Chuan, I hope that answers your question and I look forward to receiving more questions, Peppy Questions and a Peppy Answer next week.
Bye-bye.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services