lackofnecproh

Modals of Lack of Necessity & Prohibition

Do Not Have To & Must Not

Introduction	Do Not Have To Versus Must Not
Quizzes

Introduction

This lesson is a part of the Modals Opus. In this lesson, the modals of lack of necessity and prohibition, do not have to and must not, will be explained. This lesson will be followed by interactive quizzes.

"Must not" and "Do not have to" obey the following rules.

"Must not" is never conjugated.
"Must not" is followed by the simple form of the verb.
"Do" is conjugated.
"Do" is followed by "not have to" and then the simple form of the verb.

Do Not Have To Versus Must Not

"Do not have to" and "Must not" are confusing to many students. This is because in the affirmative, "Have to" and "Must" are used the same way. They are modals of obligation. When they are negative, "Must not" and "Do not have to" are not used the same way. "Must not" still refers to obligation or prohibition. "Must not" means that you have no choice. You are not supposed to do something. However, "Do not have to" is a modal of lack of necessity. “Do not have to” means that you have a choice. You can do something if you want to do it.

Modal	Meaning
Must Not	There is no choice. You have no options. You are prohibited from doing something.
Do Not Have To	There is a choice. You have options. You can do something but you are not required to do it.

Examples:

You must not smoke at the gas station.

You have no option. You have no choice. You cannot smoke at the gas station. It is too dangerous!

You do not have to eat in the cafeteria.

You have an option. You can eat in the cafeteria if you want. You can eat anywhere you would like.

You must not stay in the room during a fire drill.

You have no option. You have no choice. You must leave the room.

You do not have to do the extra credit.

You have an option. You can do the extra credit if you want to do it but you do not have to do it.

Introduction

Do Not Have To Versus Must Not

Quizzes