Grade 2 Unit 4 You Have to Do This Worksheet

...no not really but you might find this worksheet useful. In grade 2 unit 4 the kids study the grammar of obligation using must ~ and have to ~ . I can't think of any reasonably intelligent, naturally curious children who, being introduced to this material, wouldn't wonder about the circumstances under which a native speaker would choose to use one way to express obligation over another.......So we don't have to worry about explanations. And anyway that's the job of the JTE isn't it.

But, to keep it really simple, one of the distinctions seems to depend on whether or not the obligation felt by the speaker is subjective, in which case must is the grammar of choice, or objective, calling for have to~. Which is to say whether or not the obligation arises from an internal condition, ie, knowledge of a social norm and the necessity of abiding by it, or an external condition, ie, an externally imposed rule like a deadline.
The problem with making bipolar distinctions like this is that the conditions overlap and awkward constructions are still understandable. Case in point.

There's a test tomorrow so I have to study.
Okay, an externally imposed obligation, no problem with using have to.

There's a test tomorrow so I must study.
The speaker has done badly on previous tests, this has caused him to impose a strict study-the-day-before-the-test regimen on himself. When he speaks this sentence he'll probably put extra stress on must.

(Spoken by a non-native speaker) There's a test tomorrow so I must study.
The speaker hasn't studied enough to know about the distinction between the two forms or has had the same problem as the previous speaker.
Either way his listeners know he's non-native, and understand him. Besides, it's not really a mistake, it's just not the first choice a native speaker would make. At least not me.

A little more about that here.

Is it just me or is it the case that American English speakers don't use must not and mustn't so much. It sounds oh so very British to me. The remark that speakers of British English use have got to may well be true but I know that I ( I confess I'm American) use it often.

Anyway to put in in a simple rule. Must expresses what the speaker thinks is necessary while have to ~ expresses a rule that is imposed on the speaker.


By the way, when you see this worksheet on the google docs site it might look a little off-center and otherwise skewed-up. But when you see it on the google docs print preview you can see how it will look when you print it out.