Must and Have To

What you’ll learn

Express necessity with must or have to and form the common present patterns.

បង្ហាញភាពចាំបាច់ដោយប្រើ must ឬ have to និងស្គាល់ទម្រង់បច្ចុប្បន្នទូទៅ។

Meaning and use

Must and have to can both express necessity. Must is a modal followed by a base verb. Have to changes with the subject in the present: I have to, she has to. Have-to questions usually use do or does. Both forms can express rules or strong requirements; the difference is not an absolute rule about who creates the obligation. Their negative forms differ in meaning, so learn mustn’t and don’t have to in the next lesson.

Must និង have to អាចបង្ហាញភាពចាំបាច់។ Must ប្រើជាមួយកិរិយាសព្ទទម្រង់ដើម។ Have to ផ្លាស់ប្តូរតាមប្រធាន ដូចជា she has to។ សំណួរជាមួយ have to ជាទូទៅប្រើ do ឬ does។ ទម្រង់បដិសេធរបស់ពាក្យទាំងពីរមានន័យខុសគ្នា ដែលនឹងរៀននៅមេរៀនបន្ទាប់។

Grammar patterns

Pattern	Example or form
Must + base verb	I must finish this work.
Have to with I / you / we / they	We have to arrive early.
Has to with he / she / it	She has to wear a uniform.
Have-to question	Does he have to work today?
Past necessity with have to	I had to work yesterday.

Examples

1. I must finish my homework.

   ខ្ញុំត្រូវបញ្ចប់កិច្ចការផ្ទះរបស់ខ្ញុំ។

2. We have to arrive at eight.

   យើងត្រូវទៅដល់នៅម៉ោងប្រាំបី។

3. She has to wear a uniform at her school.

   នាងត្រូវពាក់ឯកសណ្ឋាននៅសាលារបស់នាង។

4. Does he have to work today?

   តើគាត់ត្រូវធ្វើការថ្ងៃនេះទេ?

Everyday conversation

Dara: Do we have to arrive early?

Maly: Yes. The class starts at eight.

Dara: Does your sister have to come too?

Maly: Yes, she does.

Common mistakes

Instead of	Use	Why
She have to wear a uniform.	She has to wear a uniform.	Use has to with she in a positive present statement.
I must to finish this work.	I must finish this work.	Must is followed directly by a base verb, without to.

Practice

Try these questions before opening the answers. Write or say each answer.

សាកល្បងឆ្លើយសំណួរទាំងនេះជាមុនសិន មុននឹងបើកមើលចម្លើយ។ អ្នកអាចសរសេរ ឬនិយាយចម្លើយរបស់អ្នក។

1. Complete: She ___ to work today. (have / has)
2. Complete: We must ___ early. (arrive)
3. Make a question: He has to work today.
4. Complete a past necessity: I ___ to work yesterday. (have)

Answers and explanations

Show answers / បង្ហាញចម្លើយ

1. has

   She takes has to in a positive present statement.

2. arrive

   Use a base verb after must.

3. Does he have to work today?

   Use does and the base form have.

4. had

   Have to becomes had to for a past necessity.

Quick recap

• Both must and have to can express necessity.
• Use must + base verb; use have/has to + base verb.
• Questions with have to usually use do/does; its negatives differ from mustn’t.