You don't have to cook tonight. I'll do it.

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Materials Daily News

Have to, Don't Have to

Intermediate

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to talk about things you are and are not required to do.

Exercise 1

Sentence Practice

We must go to school every day.
We have to go to school every day.
I must get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow for work.
I have to get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow for work.
I have to clean my room.
She has to be home by ten.

Grammar Focus

Have to

We use 'have/has to' to describe something we need to do (an obligation):

I have to go to school tomorrow. (= I must go to school tomorrow.)
You have to go home now. (= You must go home now.)
He has to go to work now. (= He must go to work now.)

'Have to' is short for 'have something to do'.

Don't Have to

To negate 'have to', put 'do/does not' in front of it: do/does not have to.

I don’t have to go to school tomorrow.
You don’t have to go home yet.
He doesn't have to go to work yet.

Note that 'don't have to' does not mean the same thing as 'must not'. 'Mustn't' means that you absolutely should not do something. 'Don't have to' simply makes something optional.

You mustn't go to school tomorrow. (= Don't go to school tomorrow!)
You don't have to go to school tomorrow. (= You are sick. You can go to school if you want, but it is OK if you don't.)

You mustn't go home yet. (= Don't go home yet!)
You don’t have to go home yet. (= You can go home if you want, but it is OK to stay here longer.)

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogues aloud with your tutor.

At School

	Haruto We don't have to read that book, Liam.
	Liam Oh. Then which book do we have to read?
	Haruto We have to read this book and answer these questions.

At Work

	Alex The customer service staff are so busy. They have to answer so many phone calls!
	Camille Yeah, but at least they can pick when they want to work.
	Alex You're right. If they choose to work the afternoon shift, they don't have to come to work until 1 pm.
	Camille On the down side, sometimes they have to work on the weekends.

With Friends

	Hannah We have to get a birthday cake for Jake. It's his birthday today!
	Masa Oh, but he wants to lose weight. So we have to get some sort of low-fat cake.

Exercise 3

Rephrasing Sentences

Rephrase the following sentences using have to or don't have to.

You must sleep more.

You do not need to sleep more.

They must be quiet.

They do not need to be quiet.

I can do my job without learning English.

We need to learn English for our job.

I am required to wear formal clothing to work.

I am allowed to not wear formal clothing to work.

Exercise 4

Sentence Building

Create sentences with the following words/phrases using have to and don't have to.

Example

sleep 8 hours a day → "I (don't) have to sleep 8 hours a day."

have a dog
have a cat
live with my family
live in an exciting city
live in the countryside
live in a big house
exercise
read books
watch movies
travel
cook