Next week, Paul has to go to Australia on business. He must visit the Opera House in Sydney before he comes back. While he is away, Cindy, his wife, must lose some weight. She has to stop eating chocolate. What exactly is the difference between 'must' and 'have to'? Don't both express the idea of obligation when there is no choice about the action being done? Paul does not have a choice about going to Australia. His boss has told him to go. The Sydney Opera House is a world-famous building and Paul would be a fool not to visit it. Cindy is getting fat and she has no choice but to lose weight if she wants to stay healthy. Eating chocolate is making her fat so she has no choice but to stop if she wants to get thin again. Can we change 'must' and 'have to' around to mean the same thing in different sentences? Does it matter which one we use? Tom has to get up early tomorrow morning. Tom must get up early tomorrow morning. Do these two sentences mean exactly the same thing? You have to look at them very carefully to see that they do not have the same meaning. 'Have to' expresses the idea of obligation coming from a third party, not from the person involved. Tom has to get up early because someone (or something) is making him do it. Someone has given him orders, eg his girlfriend wants to go for a jog with him. Tom must get up early because he wants to. Tom has told himself to get up early, eg because he wants to go for an early jog before work. 'Must' expresses the feelings of the person speaking or of someone else expressing an opinion, not a command. Have A Go! Look carefully at the meanings of these sentences and put in have/has to or must. Remember that have/has to expresses an order or necessity coming from somewhere and that must expresses a personal opinion. 1. Meet the Fockers is a brilliant film. You _________ go see it. 2. Kate _________ go for a maths tutorial every Monday evening. 3. In the UK and Hong Kong, you _________ drive on the left. 4. Next week, my dad _________ go to Tokyo to meet his Japanese boss. 5. You _________ buy a ticket before you travel on the KCR. You can't buy one on the train. 6. You _________ visit my cousin when you are in Manchester. She will be pleased to see you. 7. You've got black circles round your eyes. You _________ try and get to bed earlier. 8. You _________ have a visa to visit the US. Match The Two Halves Make sentences by matching up the two halves in this list. 9. In France 10. I have to travel 20 miles each day 11. Excuse me. 12. You must ride on the London Eye 13. Dad has to see an optician 14. Geri must try 15. I must go to the bank 16. Do you know who she's going out with now? A. You must tell me. B. you have to drive on the right. C. to open a new account. D. I have to answer my phone. E. to get to school earlier. F. when you are in the UK. G. to get some new contact lenses. H. to get to work. Answers: 1. must; 2. has to; 3. have to; 4. has to; 5. have to; 6. must; 7. must; 8. have to; 9. B; 10. H; 11. D; 12. F; 13. G; 14. E; 15. C; 16. A