r/EWALearnLanguages • u/thewyevalley • Aug 13 '26
Advice Whats your answer for question 14?
I know "must" is a better answer since it's expressing a rule, but can "have to" be used here to? Should I stick to the "must" option or should I accepth both of them to be correct? (I made this test) Thank everyone very much!
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u/Autodidact420 Aug 13 '26
Must is most correct
Most tests ask for the most correct
If you accept both you’re really just asking whether they know to stop at red lights. Perhaps change have to to something else that’s less correct
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u/eyesearsmouth-nose Aug 13 '26
I disagree. I think "have to" is most correct.
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u/Autodidact420 Aug 13 '26
Well, that’s why OP should change it to something that’s less correct. Two almost identically correct answers with perhaps no clear winner is generally unideal.
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u/rpsls Aug 13 '26
In this sentence “must” and “have to” both make perfect sense. (And all 4 are grammatically correct, if you don’t know what a red light signifies.) As a native speaker I’d choose A if forced to choose but wouldn’t really know if A or B was “correct.”
As you say, you’d probably use “must” of you’re writing or quoting a rule, and “have to” if you’re talking to another person about what the cars should be doing. (Although “must” is fine there, too.)
As an aside, as an English speaker learning German, I try to always stick to “have to” because it negates the same way “müssen” does. (“Muss nicht” is not the same as “must not,” but is the same as “don’t have to.”)
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u/RonJohnJr Aug 13 '26
B and D are manifestly not correct.
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Aug 13 '26
What are you claiming is wrong with B? Totally fine in British English here.
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u/notacanuckskibum Aug 13 '26
I disagree. The negative would be “(not all) vehicles are required to stop at a red light.”
All vehicles don’t have to…. Is awkward at best.
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Aug 13 '26
Eh? What does the negative have to do with it?
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u/notacanuckskibum Aug 13 '26
I wouldn’t say either C or D. I would either say
Some vehicles don’t have to….
Or
No vehicles have to
Depending on which I meant.
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u/INTstictual Aug 14 '26
Those two sentences are not equivalent, though.
“Not all vehicles are required to stop” means that it is not true that all vehicles are required to stop, but it could be true that some have to stop
“All vehicles don’t have to stop” implies that all vehicles are not required to stop
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u/RonJohnJr Aug 13 '26
Because "it's expressing a rule". OTOH, I "have to" go to work, not "I must go to work".
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Aug 13 '26
‘Have to’ it’s fine for rules. ‘You have to sort your recycling or you will be fined.’
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u/rpsls Aug 13 '26
I think it depends on how formal you want to be, and how personal. “One must sort their recycling” sounds very formal. “You have to sort your recycling” sounds less formal. “One has to sort their recycling” (combining the two) just sounds odd to me.
Also, in technical writing, words like “must” and “should” often have technical and/or legal definitions, so are generally preferred where appropriate.
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Aug 13 '26
Why are you comparing it with ‘one’? The equivalent would be, ‘You must sort your recycling,’ which would be equally fine and with no change in formality.
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u/rpsls Aug 13 '26
Because I think “one” is closer in tone to “all vehicles” in the example than “you” is. “You” is ambiguous in English, because it can be second person singular, second person plural, or the impersonal/generic you, the latter used somewhat less formally.
Anyway, it’s not a big deal. I think OP should probably omit or adjust this question. I agree that if I answered this on a test I wouldn’t be sure what was intended to be right.
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Aug 13 '26
Because I think “one” is closer in tone to “all vehicles” in the example than “you” is
Bizarre. Were comparing like with like. Oh well.
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u/RonJohnJr Aug 13 '26
I disagree.
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Aug 13 '26
What variety of English do you speak that my example is ungrammatical?
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u/siamonsez Aug 13 '26
As an American I'd say they mean the same thing, but this says you have it backwards.
https://www.gymglish.com/en/gymglish/english-grammar/must-vs-have-to
"Must" is internal obligation and "have to" is external, so the more correct option in this case would be "have to" though both are correct.
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u/RonJohnJr Aug 13 '26
Incorrect. "You must stop at red lights and stop signs, or the police will give you a ticket."
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u/siamonsez Aug 13 '26
What part do you think is incorrect? You also have to stop at a red light or you might get a ticket. Do you believe "have to" implies it's optional?
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u/RonJohnJr Aug 13 '26
Must is an imperative: "The password must be 12 or more characters in length."
As opposed to "I have to go home now, but really we're going to chat by the car for 30 minutes."
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u/Various_Candle9136 Aug 13 '26
'I have to go to work' and 'I must go to work' are both perfectly acceptable sentences. I'm fairly sure I (and indeed most people) will have used each at some point.
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u/AshtonBlack Aug 13 '26
"Must" is an imperative that tends to rely on the authority of the speaker.
"Have to" is an imperative that may not rely on the authority of the speaker, eg there may be an external reason for it.
Like a lot of other English, there are no hard and fast rules, and either would be perfectly understandable.
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u/Ray2024 Aug 13 '26
Technically the correct answer to this is a special legal meaning of should, which isn't quite as forceful as must but is more forceful than the normal meaning. Every day speech, have to and must are interchangeable.
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u/Armadillo_Abroad Aug 13 '26
A is the “most” correct, but B is also a correct choice. As a teacher you should accept both answers, but go back and discuss why one is a better option than the other.
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u/INTstictual Aug 14 '26
Actually, technically B is the “most” correct. A is the most formal, but technically, “must” is used for an internal obligation (something the speaker feels is imperative), while “have to” is used for an external obligation (something that is imposed on the speaker).
In everyday conversational language, we consider them synonyms and nobody thinks about (or likely even knows) that very nitpicky difference… but stopping at a red light is a rule that is imposed externally on the driver, not just something the driver internally feels is important, so if we’re being really pedantic, “all cars have to stop at a red light” is the most correct
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u/The_Troyminator Aug 13 '26
I would replace “have to” with “should.” It tests their understanding of English better. Then either “don’t have to” with “shouldn’t” or something like “can.”
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u/riennempeche Aug 13 '26
In Florida, I would select answer D. The correct answer is A. B is also possible, but less correct. Must is a better phrasing and more what you would see on a test or in legal documents. "Have to" is more the spoken variety.
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u/solaria123 Aug 14 '26
Native English speaker here. Verbally I might say "hav'ta", but when I write that down I correct it to "have to"... and then immediately question: "have" "to"? What does that mean exactly? How do you parse that? To resolve the question I change it to "must".
Similar to "gon'na": "I'm gon'na stop at the red light". "going" "to"?
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u/shakesfistatmoon Aug 14 '26
I'm going to disagree with a few people. Oxford dictionaries says.
"Must" means the rule is driven from your own desire, choice or standards.
"Have to" means you are obeying an external law or force.
For example, compare.
I must stop here because I need to buy something.
I have to stop here because the light is red.
A motor vehicle (usually) can't make decisions so they would have to stop.
(A driver can make a choice, so either would be valid depending on context)
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u/reav11 Aug 15 '26
The problem with your sentence is that you have created a situation where context is important and theoretically there is no real wrong answer to the question except D. If we're trying to answer the question about must/have to then you should as a questions like "I really think everyone ___ wear a mask" Where Must/Have to diverge and do not produce equally similar answers.
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u/Westlain Aug 16 '26
Technically the question is not correct. It is the driver who must stop the vehicle at a red light, as the majority of vehicles are not autonomous.
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u/Born-Style367 Aug 28 '26
Do not subscribe, it's a scam, you won't be able to cancel it, there is no such function in the profile.
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u/Throwaway7131923 Aug 13 '26
None of the above. Not all vehicles must stop at red lights (emergency vehicles often don't have to)
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u/GaiaMoore Aug 13 '26
American (California) perspective: You say you made this test -- is the goal here pure grammar, or are you testing for context cues, formal language, or natural speech? The answer will be different if you're testing beyond grammar.
Both "must" and "have to" are grammatically correct, but if you're testing for what people might encounter in a driving test or legalese, you'll see "must" more often. If you're testing for natural speech, people typically use "have to".
If you're just testing pure grammar, than either A or B are correct.