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Must
English Grammar - Modal Verbs
MUST
1. To express obligation or duty
We use this when we don't know but we are certain that it is true (based on evidence).
That must have been my mother calling me last night, nobody else has my number.
He must have won the lottery with the new house and car he has just bought.
She must have been at home - her car was there.
5. A strong recommendation
Mustn't
The negative is Mustn't which refers to prohibition (negative obligation)
Have to is a more informal while Must is mostly used in written orders or instructions.
Also, Must expresses obligation imposed by the speaker while Have to expresses external obligation.
For questions it is more common to use Have to instead of Must (which sounds very formal):
You must not drink that. (= it is forbidden to drink that; it is not allowed)
You don't have to drink that. (= you don't need to drink that but you can if you want)
You mustn't tell John (= Do not tell John)
You don't have to tell John (= you can tell John if you want to but it is not necessary)
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See our notes about other Modal Verbs.
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