Grammar-Quizzes.

com Should / Must Expressing advisability and necessity

Present - Should vs. Must SHOULD We use should to suggest something. "It is advisable to..." The modal should expresses opinion, one person's point of view. We should protect our environment. It makes good sense. We should select cars that are more fuel-efficient. We should use re-usable bags when shopping. MUST We use must to express a stronger point of view. "We need to..." "We have to..." The modal must also expresses opinion, one person's point of view. We must protect our environment, or our resources will disappear. The car industry must change engines that burn fossil fuels. Stores must give out recyclable plastic bags.

Ought to and Have to OUGHT TO / IT'S A GOOD IDEA Use ought to or It was a good idea to ... for past advice. I ought to install solar panels on my roof. You ought not to use your fireplace very often. It's a good idea to leave your car in your garage. HAVE TO Use had to or needed to or It was necessary that ... for past necessity. Use had to for actual past events. We have to use more alternative energy sources. Everyone had to save energy. (and they did.) People have to make changes in their habits.

Had Better HAD BETTER The verbal expression had better refers to the immediate future and is used to give strong advice (in some cases threatening advice!) It is more urgent than should or ought to COMMON ERRORS The had in had better does not behave like other auxiliary verbs. Had does not change form for tense or person. It always refers to the near future. Had is followed by not in a negative question but not in an positive question. IHad better is always followed by the plain form (base) verb.

FORM You had better close the door open or (else) all the heat will go out. (immediate future) [had better] [plain form] You have better close the door open or all the heat will go out. You had better to close the door open or all the heat will go out. You had better closing the door open or all the heat will go out.

NEGATIVE You had better not close the door or the cat will be trapped inside. NEGATIVE QUESTION Hadn't you better close the door? (I think you'll agree you had better.) EXPRESSION/MODAL ADJUSTS MEANING TO PAST TENSE I thought it was a good idea to close the door. I thought you should have closed the door. I thought you ought to have closed the door. Pop-Q "Had Better" You hadn't better close the door or the cat will be trapped. (not used much) POSITIVE QUESTION Had you better close the door? (not used) Had you better not close the door? (not used) HAD BETTER RESTRICTS MEANING TO FUTURE / NO ADJUSTMENT I thought you had better close the door. (Had better cannot adjust within the time frame of another clause.) They had better leave before the hurricane arrived.

Past - Late Advice vs. Past Necessity SHOULD HAVE Use should have for advice given after the event happened. "It was advisable, but did not happen." The advice is hypothetical what we would have done in a particular situation. * MUST HAVE Use had to or needed to or It was necessary that ... for past necessity. Use had to for actual past events. Must have is used for making conclusions not for stating past necessity.

We should have protected our environment. (but we We must have protected our environment. (*Must didn't.) have means conclusion not necessity.) We should selected cars that were more fuel-efficient a long time ago. (but we didn't.) We should have banned the use of plastic bags. (but we didn't.)

Other Past Expressions OUGHT TO HAVE It was advisable, but did not happen. (Advice that comes too late to use.) I ought to have installed solar panels on my roof. (but I didn't.) You ought not to have put in a lawn in your yard. (grass) (but you didn't.) It would have been a good idea to use plants that didn't need much water. HAD TO It was necessary. We needed to use more alternative energy sources to save money. Everyone needed to save energy during the hot summer. It was necessary that we used plants that required little water.

Sentence Word Order VERB BASE AUXILIARY / VERB INFINITIVE

SENT. TYPE STATEMENT advisable advisable necessary necessary QUESTION advisable

AUXILIARY SUBJECT VERB

TAG CLAUSE

We We We We

should ought need have

select (verb base) to select (infinitive) to select to select

energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars.

Should

we

select

advisable

Ought

we

to select

necessary

Do

we

need

to select

necessary TAG QUESTION

Do

we

have

to select

energyefficient cars? energyefficient cars? energyefficient cars? energyefficient cars?

We advisable advisable necessary necessary NEGATIVE advisable advisable necessary necessary W / ADVERB We We We We We We We

should ought need have

select to select to select to select

energyefficient cars, energyefficient cars, energyefficient cars, energyefficient cars,

shouldn't we? oughtn't we? don't we? don't we?

shouldn't ought not don't need don't have

select to select to select to select

energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars.

advisable advisable necessary necessary

We We We We

select should base) continually select ought to knowledgeably base) select need to base) carefully select have to base) responsibly

(verb (verb (verb (verb

energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars. energyefficient cars.

A tag question can also occur with a negative main sentence and a postive final question: They shouldn't do that, should they? (I don't think they should.) Related page: And so / too

Not Required vs. Prohibited DON'T HAVE TO Use don't have to if something is not required. You don't have to park on the street. It's not necessary. He doesn't have to go to work everyday. He can work from home. (It's not necessary.) We don't have to drive big cars. HAVE TO NOT Use have to not if something is prohibited. You have to not park on the street. It's necessary not to. He has to not miss a minute of work. He's an airplane flight controller. We have to not drive big cars.

# 1.

YOUR RESPONSE
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CHECK YOUR ANSWER

should

Before you buy something, you

try it on.

2.

You consider carefully whether the item of clothing is right for you.

ought to

3.

Sometimes, to take something home and try it on with other things such as a jacket or shoes.

it's a good idea

4.

If you decide the item is not right for you, you

-

don't have to

keep it.

5.

However, you

remove the tags.

have to not

6.

You place the item back into its bag so that it will stay clean and can be resold

should

7.

When you return to the store, you receipt.

the sales

need to have

8.

You also (permitted).

return the item within the time allowed

must

9.

The store complaint.

accept the item back without much

should

complaint (n.) saying that one is unhappy or annoyed

10.

The store might just offer store credit.

your money. However, it

should return

11. If you are unhappy with store credit, then you

-

should have asked

about the return policy earlier .

12. The policy that was written on the back of your receipt, told you what you
-

had to do

for a cash refund.

refund (n.) return of money for return of item

Reset

What is the difference between must and should? Monday, 10 May 2010 06:23 Written by Neal Chambers Mr.Maru: Hey Sparky! Are you ready for dinner? Sparky: Yeah, what are we having? Mr.Maru: Bacon cheeseburgers. Sparky: Oh, bacon? I love bacon. Mr.Maru: I can't find the bacon though. Sparky: Really? That's interesting. Mr.Maru: Yes, very interesting. It was here when I left. Did you eat it? Sparky: Me?! No. You must protect the bacon better. Mr.Maru: Why do you smell like bacon then? Sparky: There should be a mistake. The bacon thief should have rubbed some grease on me. Mr.Maru: Did you see the bacon thief? Sparky: I was asleep. He should have stolen the bacon then rubbed the grease on me while I was sleeping. Dirty bacon thief! What is the difference between must and should? When do we use must and when do we use should? Let's talk about some examples and the basic rules. Basic Use of must and should The words 'must' and 'should' are called modal auxilary verbs or 'modals' in English. They help other verbs. The modal 'must' is used to talk about when something is certain. There is a lot of evidence, clues or information to support the statement. It can also be used when there is no other explaination for something. For example, He is smiling and laughing. The joke must be really funny. That necklace has lots of big diamonds on it. It must be expensive!

I looked everywhere in my house for my umbrella, but couldn't find it. I must have lost it. The modal 'should' is used to talk about an obligation, duty or responsibility. For example, I should wash my car. (Keeping my car clean is my duty. Society wants me to clean it because it looks nicer.) The bathroom is hard to find. They should have more signs. (The owner of this building has a duty. That duty is to help people find the facilities (bathroom).) The modal 'should' is also used for probablity. This is usually used when we have some evidence or proof. For example, She should win the gold medal. She is a fast runner. (Because she is a fast runner is more likely to win or has a better chance of winning the gold medal.) The manager went to a meeting. He should be back in an hour. (I am pretty sure the manager will be back in an hour because he usually has a meeting for one hour.) The difference between 'must' and 'should' The main difference between these two modals is that 'must' is more probable or more likely to happen than 'should'. For example, You must clean the floors. (I told you to clean the floors. If you don't clean the floor, I will be angry. I will force you to clean the floor.) You should clean the floors. (I will feel better if you clean the floors, but you don't have to.) There must be something wrong with this car. (The car is not running as usual. The best explaination is that there is something wrong with it.) There should be something wrong with this car. (There is some evidence for me to think there is something wrong, but I can't prove it a 100%. For example, the dealer is selling the car for a cheaper price than usual or the car hasn't been started for a long time. I'm less certain because I did not drive the car or experience anything wrong. I'm only guessing after seeing the evidence.) Do you understand? Let's take a short quiz to check. Must vs. Should Quiz 1) You ________ take off your shoes when you enter a Japanese house. It is a strong rule that everyone follows. A) must B) should 2) It _____ be raining out. I hear the rain drops on the roof. A) must B) should 3) You _________ visit Paris. I think you would have fun.

A) must B) should Answers 1) A) - There is no other choice. It is a strong rule, so you must follow it. 2) A) - There is no other explaination. If you hear rain drops it is raining. 3) B) - You have a duty to yourself because you will have fun.