Grammaire

Introduction

1. Form of the Ought and Should

1. 1. Form of the Ought and Should

·        Ought	·        Should
Ø Ought is a modal verb. Ø The same form can be used for present and future and for the past when preceded by a verb in a past tense or followed by a perfect infinitive. Ex ·        I ought to write to him today or yesterday. ·        She said I ought to write. ·        I knew that I ought to have written Ø Negative: ought not Ø Interrogative:  ought I? Ø Ought takes the full infinitive ought to	Ø Should is a modal verb. Ø The same form can be used for present and future and for the past when preceded by a verb in a past tense. The model could replace ought to in the next examples. Ø Negative: should not Ø Interrogative:  should I? Ø Should is followed by the bare infinitive Ø Should and ought to are used for obligation, normally have the same meaning but should is the more usual form.

 

1. 2. Ought /should compared to must and have to

1. 2. 1. Differences in use

Ø Ought /should is used to express the subject obligation or duty. See the example below:

·        You should send in accurate income tax returns.

·        You should pass the final exam.

Ø They are used also to indicate a correct or sensible action. Here, there is neither the speaker authority, as with must, nor external authority, as with have to. It is more a matter of conscience or good sense. See the examples below:

·        They should not allow parking here, the street is too narrow.

·        This word is spelt wrongly; there should be another -s-.

Ø With must and have to, we normally have the impression that the obligation is being or will be fulfilled. This is particularly the case with the first person but quite often applies to the other persons too. With ought /should we do not necessarily feel that the obligation is being or will be fulfilled. Quite often, especially in the first person, the reverse is the case. See the examples below:

·        If a driver says, I ought to/should go slowly here; it is a built up area he usually implies that he is not going to go slowly. If he really intended to go slowly he would say, I must go / I have to go slowly here.

·        Similarly, if someone says, we must have a party to celebrate your engagement, his friends are reasonably confident that there will be a party. But if he says, we should have a party…. It is not so certain that the party will take place. His tone or expression might indicate that it will not be possible.

1. 2. 2. Similarities in Use

Ø Should but not ought are Used in Formal Notices and on Information Sheets. Here, -must- could be used without change of meaning, but should express the obligation more gently. See the examples below:

·        Candidates should be prepared to answer questions on ……

·        On hearing the alarm, hotel guests should leave their rooms.

Ø Ought and should express Advice. But for more emphatic advice must is better. See the examples below:

·        You ought to /should read this. It is very good.

·        You must read. It is marvelous.

Ø Ought /should with the Continuous Infinitive expresses the idea that the subject is not fulfilling his obligation or that he is acting foolishly, rashly, or not acting sensibly and prudently. See the example below:

·        He ought to be studying for his exam. He should not be spending all his time on the beach.

Ø Ought /should with the Perfect Infinitive is another construction. This construction is used to express unfulfilled obligation or a sensible action that was neglected. In the negative, it expresses a wrong or foolish action in the past. See the examples below:

·        You ought to have told him that the paint on that seat was wet.

·        You should have turned his omelet, he likes it turned.

·        They ought to have stopped at the traffic light.

Important Note: Ought to §  Ought is used with meanings similar to those of should expressing expectation or requirement. The principal grammatical difference is that ought is used with the to infinitive rather than the bare infinitive, hence we should go is equivalent to we ought to go. Because of this difference of syntax, ought is sometimes excluded from the class of modal verbs, or is classed as a semi-modal. §  Ought can be used with perfect infinitives in the same way as should (but again with the insertion of to): you ought to have done that earlier. §  The negated form is ought not or oughtn't, equivalent in meaning to shouldn't (but again used with to).

 

2. Must and Have to

2. 1. Form

·        Must	·        Have to
Ø Must is a modal Ø Negative: must not Ø Interrogative: must I? Ø The past tense is supplied by had to Ø Must takes the bare infinitive Ø  Must expresses obligation and emphatic advice	Ø Did not have to for habitual and single actions in the past and is more generally used Ø Had not –got- to for single actions Ø  Have to in the affirmative expresses obligation Ø Have to in the negative expresses absence of obligation. Also by need not and do not need

 

2. 1. 2. Differences between must and have in the Affirmative

Must

Have to

Ø A. Must expresses obligation imposed   by the speaker: ·        Mother: you must wipe your feet when you come in. Ø Speaker Authority: second person ·        Mother: you must wear a dress. ·        Employer: you must use a dictionary. Ø Third Person: Here must is chiefly used I written orders or instructions: ·        Passengers must cross the line. ·        Staff must be at their desks by 9.00. Ø First Person In the first person the difference between must and have to is less important and very often either form is possible. But must is better for urgent obligation. ·        Typist: I must /will have to buy a dictionary.

Ø Have to expresses external obligation: ·        Small boy: I have to wipe my feet every time I come in. Ø External Authority: second person ·        You have to wear uniform, do not you? ·        You have to work very hard, I suppose. Ø Third Person: When we are merely stating or commenting on another person obligations we use have to: ·        In this staff even the senior staffs have to be at their office by 9.00. Ø First Person In the first person the difference between must and have to is less important and very often either form is possible. But have to is better for habits. ·        Typist: I must /will have to buy a dictionary.

 

3. 3. Must and Had to

§  The modal must expresses obligation or necessity: You must use this form; We must try to escape. It can also express a confident assumption, such as in It must be here somewhere.

§  When used with the perfect infinitive (i.e. with have and the past participle), must expresses only assumption: Sue must have left means that the speaker confidently assumes that Sue has left. To express obligation or necessity in the past, had to or some other synonym must be used.

§  The formal negation of must is must not (contracted to mustn't). However the negation effectively applies to the main verb, not the modality: You must not do this means that you are required not to do it, not just that you are not required to do it. To express the lack of requirement or obligation, the negative of have to or need (see below) can be used: You don't have to do it; You needn't do it.

3. 3. 1. Affirmative Obligation in the Past: Had to

Ø Here the distinction between the speaker authority and external authority cannot be expressed and there is only one form, had to.

·        You had to pay duty on that, I suppose. External authority

·        I ran out of money and had to borrow from Tom.  Speaker authority

Summary

Exercise 1

Fill in the spaces with the right modal in the following sentences by inserting either must or have to with justification.

1.     Teacher to student: you ………1……….revise your lessons earlier at exams and his classmate explains immediately to the student that you ……2…….respect the instructions of the teacher.

2.     I do not get the way to the mosque so I……..3……ask for it but by the way someone ……..4…..tell me.

3.     Rule in a church gate: visitors ………5……….follow the rules of the church. The visitors argue about the rule and say about themselves that we ………..6………….respect always the rules of the church.

4.     The road is full of cars: I ……7……..drive through this lane while a traffic notice says that drivers ……8……..wait till the green color appear.

5.     Pupils…..9…study nine fundamental years and the teachers tell them that you ……10…….make efforts.

 

Exercise 2

Fill in the spaces with the right modal in the following sentences by inserting either must or have to with justification. “05 points”

1.     Housewives who have a family and children usually ………1…………..do quite a lot of house work and say every morning to their children: you ……2………….take your school bag before you leave home.

2.     Teacher to his student: you ………3……….attend the TDs session otherwise you fail in the exam. Students speak about themselves and say that we ………4……………….attend lectures regularly.

3.      All the buses are full; I ……5…..take a train but a station notice says that passengers ……6……wait till 8.00.

4.     Algerian children ………7……. stay at school 16 and you as a student you ……8……….respect the order.

5.     I never remember his house so ……9…….look it up and my friend feel tired and ………10……stop looking.