Have to (objective obligation)We often use
have to to say that something is obligatory, for example:
- Children have to go to school.
Structure of Have toHave to is often grouped with modal auxiliary verbs for convenience, but in fact it is
not a modal verb. It is not even an auxiliary verb. In the
have to structure, "have" is a
main verb. The structure is:
subject + auxiliary verb +
have + infinitive (with
to)
Look at these examples in the simple tense:
subjectauxiliary verbmain verb haveinfinitive (with to)
+ | She | | has | to work. | |
- | I | do not | have | to see | the doctor. |
? | Did | you | have | to go | to school? |
Use of Have toIn general,
have to expresses
impersonal obligation. The subject of
have to is obliged or forced to act by a separate, external power (for example, the Law or school rules).
Have to is
objective. Look at these examples:
- In France, you have to drive on the right.
- In England, most schoolchildren have to wear a uniform.
- Youcef has to wear a tie at work.
In each of the above cases, the obligation is not the subject's opinion or idea. The obligation is imposed from outside.
We can use
have to in
all tenses, and also with modal auxiliaries. We conjugate it just like any other main verb. Here are some examples:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb have | infinitive | |
past simple | I | | had | to work | yesterday. |
present simple | I | | have | to work | today. |
future simple | I | will | have | to work | tomorrow. |
present continuous | She | is | having | to wait. | |
present perfect | We | have | had | to change | the time. |
modal (may) | They | may | have | to do | it again. |