Have to vs. must?

[Amalmusica]

ohhhh gosh! now I'm confused with these all words like
must
have to
should
gotta
ought to
have got to
got to
need to

as per I understood
*ought to conveys the idea of duty.
*have to is what "We decide" something to be compulsorily done at the moment "I have to go home now. because I feel tired and I want to take rest at my house."
*must is also like the same but it is very strong as it is like a compulsory thing that society follows or like someone has told us to come at a time and it was an order..but we're late while talking with someone and we forgot about the time.in that case we can use must as it is the order of someone[our boss,or teacher at college,or someone above our post]
<<<<[i have doubt whether it is "must"= the decision taken by someone else or is it "have to"= the decision taken by some one else????]>>>
*should refers to a piece of advice or recommendation to someone. like in the sentence You should take your umbrella. It might rain
* gotta means i have to it is a slang for "I have got to go now">I've gotta go now. but i dont know if we can say like I gotta go now without the "have"
* got to means gotta but I dont know if we can use I got to go now but I've read somewhere like " I gotta go now" with out using the have
* need to is our necessity I need to go because it is my necessity.
am I right??

~I hope someone can correct me if I wrong because I'm not sure about these usages.

thanks
Amal.

[Nai Htun Thein]

Hi everybody,
Please think of my opinion below.
I simply think that 'must' is used in 'order' meaning and you cannot choose other options; I'm already late and if I don't go something will happen to me.
And I feel 'have to' is used in 'suggestion' meaning and you can wait sometime and can choose other options; I have to check my e-mail but...........

You all are welcome for discussion, I like it for so much of different point of view.
English is my third language.
Tla Nai

[Tomy_Ng]

hi im tommy from indonesia.
i have some question to ask you.
here,ive been learning english for a year but sometimes i have difficult to comunicate with others,i dont know why maybe its hard for me speaking fluency.the second,my pronunciation always wrong,i think that will be a biggerst matter that i have to solve first.please send you answer to me in tommy_3969@yahoo.com

thanks
regards

[Silmarwen]

I'm not native speaker though I think there definitely are differences. If someone told me these sentences, I'd feel like:
You must be aware of that. - I think it's important for me to be aware of that but it's not a must
You have to be aware of that. - There's no other option, I have to do so because someone told me to do so. No reason needed

You mustn't be aware of that. - I'm not allowed to be aware of that
You must not be aware of that. - It's not necessary to be aware of that, it's my choice though.
You have to not be aware of that. - I'm not allowed to be aware of that. (it feels a bit different from mustn't but I can't exactly tell why.)
You don't have to be aware of that. - I shouldn't be aware of that, there's no need to do so.

So "must" somewhat feels like quite a strong should:)
Let me know if I'm totally wrong:]

[Naz]

I received 9 out of 10.What is the differece between "must" & "have to" because my this option was incorrect.One question that is ringing in my mind is related to the word 'simple' why the "present simple" and not "present indefinite". Furthermore, what is the difference between 'simple' and 'indefinite'. Plzzzz i need explanation of both the problems.
Thank you
God bless all.

[Naz]

Hi Amal you are right in your expla

[Naz]

Hi Amal you are right in your explanation but you have showed your confusion about "must and have to". Must is a sort of obligation which cannot be averted and we are supposed to fulfill it.For example, I must go to college b/c i want to become a doctor.Here we see in order to fulfill my future need, i'll attend classes. "have to" is the reflection of the same thing but in this problem we respect someone else's order and openion like... When my mom tells me for cooking i have to cook.
i hope you'll get this explanation
If there lies any mistake you cann make me understand.
Hope for the best.

[HersheySoldier]

Hello,

I,ve got a question about when to use 'have to' and when to use 'must'.
I understand when I talk about the past I can't use 'must'.
But when I talk about the presence - e.g. I have to go now. or I must go now.
What would I use and why.

Bernd

[Harsh Chowdhary]

Dear HersheySoldier,
If the tense is present tense then u can use either 'have to' or 'must'. Both 'must' and 'have to' can be used to speak about obligation or necessity. But in case of a negative sentence meaning changes with the use of 'have to' or 'must' :-
You mustn't cross the road here. (It is prohibited)
You don't have to cross the road here. (It's not necessary, i.e. you can stay on this side and cross later).

[Ugyen]

Thank you for lesson 6.

Referring lesson 6 test on “modal verbs”- must vs had to.
My score is 9/10.

Could you please mention why one of them is incorrect?

1. I have to go now because I am already late for class.
2. I must go now because I am alreday late for class.

[Islamebadul]

i am not clear about the use of "must" and "have to".............please someone make clear. i want to hear the right rules.

[Aysel]

Dear all,
it was not clear to me to distinguish must and have to. So, I got these rules from different sources and maybe they will be useful for you.
1. We use 'have to' in the past, present and future to express responsibility or necessity. NOTE: 'have to' is conjugated as a regular verb and therefore requires an auxiliary verb in the question form or negative.
We have to get up early.
She had to work hard yesterday.
They will have to arrive early.
Does he have to go?
2. We use 'must' to express something that you or a person feels is necessary. This form is used only in the present and future.
I must finish this work before I leave.
Must you work so hard?
3. We use the negative form of 'have to' expresses the idea that something is not required. It is however, possible if so desired.
You don't have to arrive before 8.
They didn't have to work so hard.
4. The negative form of 'must' expresses the idea that something is prohibited - this form is very different in meaning than the negative of 'have to'!
She mustn't use such horrible language.
Tom. You mustn't play with fire.
5. The past form of 'have to' and 'must' is 'had to'. Must does not exist in the past.
Did he have to leave so early?
He had to stay overnight in Dallas.

In many cases Must и have to can substitute each other and expresses necessity doing smth.
• It's later than I thought. I must (have to) go now
But they have different meanings.
We use must in present and future
• We must go now.
• Must you leave tomorrow?
We use have to in past, present and future
In negative and question sentences we use do, does, did with have to
• RIGHT: Alex doesn't have to work on Mondays –
• WRONG: Alex hasn't to work on Mondays
• RIGHT: What do I have to do
• WRONG: What have I to do
With the help of must we often express our emotions and feelings which state necessity to do smth.
• I must write to Mary. I haven't written to her for ages.
In the example above speaker knows that he must write to her, but nobody compels him to do that. He knows due to his emotions and feelings
If the speaker doesn’t follow his feelings and emotions, then it’s right to use have to
• My eyes are not very good. I have to wear glasses for reading.
In the given example speaker states facts. If not to wear glasses it will be difficult to read.
We can say have/has got to instead have to.
• I've got to work tomorrow = I have to work tomorrow
Musn’t and don’t have to are absolutely different.
• You mustn't tell anyone what I said
You mustn't do something means by no means you do it. It is prohibited.
You don't have to do something means that it is not necessary for you to do that.
• I don't have to wear a suit to work, but usually I do.

Must, have to and have got to: expressing the present
Must, have to and have got to are all used to express obligation or the need to do something.
They can be used interchangeably in the present tense, except that must suggests that it is the speaker who has decided that something is necessary, whereas have to and have got to suggest that somebody else has imposed the decision.
Have got to is characteristic of very informal speech. Have to sounds slightly more formal.
Compare the following:
• I must clean the house before mum gets back. I want her to find it all neat and tidy.
• Sorry, I can't come out now. I've got to tidy up my room before I'm allowed out.
• He has to attend the clinic every two weeks. He's really quite seriously ill.
• You must come and visit us again soon. It's ages since we saw you.
With frequency adverbs such as always, often, sometimes, never, etc, have to is normally preferred:
• I usually have to work on Saturdays so I hardly ever go away for the weekend.
• They sometimes have to get their own suppers if their mother is working late.
must and have to: expressing the future and the past
Must and have got to have no future or past tense forms.
We cannot say: I had got to.../ I'll have got to.../ I'll must.../ I've must....
However we can also use must to express future as well as present intention, especially if it is the speaker who decides that something is necessary. But it cannot be used to express past intention.
Have to is the only one of the three that possesses past and future forms.
Compare the following:
• To get to Leeds by ten, I shall have to leave London before six tomorrow.
• To get to Leeds by ten, I must leave London before six tomorrow.
• You'll have to put the scaffolding up before you go on to the roof. It's not safe otherwise.
• You'll have to have that tooth extracted. It's very badly infected.
• We had to leave the party early. Tom was obviously unwell.
• We've had to cancel our holiday. Tom is just not well enough for a walking holiday.
must, have to and have got to in the interrogative
Have to and have got to are often preferred in the interrogative, especially if the obligation is imposed from the outside.
Compare the following:
• What time have you got to be back? ~ Dinner's at seven. So by half past six really.
• How often do you have to travel to America on business?
~ About once every six months.
• Must you leave right now? Won't you stay a little longer?
• Do you have to leave now? ~ I do, unfortunately. I've got to collect my son from school.
have to and mustn't
We have to use have to for the negative of must when there is no obligation or necessity to do something:
• You don't have to drink champagne at the reception. You can have a soft drink.
• I didn't have to play after all. Jane turned up and could partner Alice.