MUST (obligation | necessity ) – English Grammar Profiler

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‘Must’ is a modal verb that can be used to express obligation or necessity. It is often used to indicate that something is required or mandatory. For example:

  • An employee must follow the company’s code of conduct.
  • A candidate must meet the qualifications for the job.
  • A patient must provide accurate medical history to the doctor.
  • An organization must comply with government regulations.
  • An owner must maintain their property.
  • A user must agree to the terms and conditions before using a service.
  • A court must follow the law when making decisions.
  • A product must meet certain safety standards before it can be sold.
  • Entries must be submitted before the deadline.
  • Leaders must set a good example for their followers.

Here are student examples of using a range of subjects before ‘must’:

So I must study English very hard.

PELIC Korean male level 2 writing class.

You must do the homework each day without delay.

Arabic, female, level 4 writing class

I think that teenagers must study.

TLC speaking test, female Spain B1

Profiling Research

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 88 in the category of MODALITY is defined:

‘must’ (with a wide range of pronouns and nouns) to talk about obligation and necessity

A2 point 49:

‘must’ with a limited range of pronouns (‘I’ and ‘you’) to talk about obligation and necessity.

Here are the most common noun subjects found before ‘must’ in the iWeb corpus:

_NN must_VM

1 STUDENTS MUST 95663 2 APPLICANTS MUST 50462 3 STUDENT MUST 34512 4 CANDIDATES MUST 21514 5 APPLICANT MUST 18515 6 PERSON MUST 16671 7 PEOPLE MUST 13556 8 PROGRAM MUST 13284 9 PLAYERS MUST 13249 10 CANDIDATE MUST 12872 11 MEMBERS MUST 12744 12 FORM MUST 12176 13 APPLICATION MUST 12159 14 PARTICIPANTS MUST 11679 15 CARE MUST 10919 16 SYSTEM MUST 10795 17 CHILDREN MUST 10543 18 COMPANY MUST 10492 19 GOVERNMENT MUST 10466 20 COMPANIES MUST 10129 21 INFORMATION MUST 10048 22 PLAYER MUST 10026 23 APPLICATIONS MUST 9892 24 USER MUST 9686 25 USERS MUST 9513 26 EMPLOYER MUST 9461 27 EMPLOYEES MUST 9193 28 ITEMS MUST 8659 29 TEAM MUST 8461 30 WORK MUST 7715 31 INDIVIDUAL MUST 7565 32 PARENTS MUST 7520 33 CHILD MUST 7485 34 MAN MUST 7326 35 COURT MUST 7310 36 EMPLOYERS MUST 7140 37 EMPLOYEE MUST 6978 38 ENTRIES MUST 6909 39 REQUESTS MUST 6673 40 MEMBER MUST 6409 41 REQUEST MUST 6386 42 NOTICE MUST 6316 43 DATA MUST 6306 44 THINGS MUST 6209 45 PLAN MUST 6140 46 PAYMENT MUST 6082 47 COURSES MUST 6070 48 CUSTOMERS MUST 6023 49 LEADERS MUST 5951 50 CUSTOMER MUST 5849 51 NAME MUST 5761 52 ORGANIZATIONS MUST 5686 53 FILE MUST 5646 54 GUESTS MUST 5619 55 DOCUMENTS MUST 5544

56 ACCOUNT MUST 5502

Your account must have a verified phone number and confirmed email address.

India Today

57 VALUE MUST 5435 58 BUSINESS MUST 5423 59 STATE MUST 5410 60 PROCESS MUST 5363 61 INDIVIDUALS MUST 5269 62 REQUIREMENTS MUST 5256 63 PARTY MUST 5232 64 PROPERTY MUST 5185 65 PRODUCT MUST 5156 66 PRODUCTS MUST 5113 67 SERVICES MUST 5102 68 OWNER MUST 5047 69 SERVICE MUST 5030 70 SCHOOL MUST 5025 71 ORGANIZATION MUST 4997 72 PATIENTS MUST 4805 73 BUSINESSES MUST 4803 74 PROGRAMS MUST 4702 75 TEACHERS MUST 4689 76 TEAMS MUST 4652 77 DRIVERS MUST 4646 78 PARTIES MUST 4634 79 MANAGERS MUST 4620 80 SCHOOLS MUST 4612 81 NUMBER MUST 4434 82 STAFF MUST 4425 83 MATERIALS MUST 4415 84 TIME MUST 4363 85 PROVIDERS MUST 4343 86 ORDERS MUST 4337 87 COURSE MUST 4315 88 VEHICLE MUST 4265 89 HOURS MUST 4262 90 OWNERS MUST 4222 91 BODY MUST 4214 92 ENTRANTS MUST 4149 93 MEN MUST 4106 94 FORMS MUST 4079 95 MANAGER MUST 4078 96 ORDER MUST 4061 97 SYSTEMS MUST 4054 98 GROUP MUST 4009 99 WOMEN MUST 3995

100 PATIENT MUST 3991

A2 vocabulary: care, companies, company, customer, customers, documents, file, form, forms, guests, information, manager, managers, member, members, must, notice, order, orders, plan, program, programs, staff, team, teams B1:

account, application, applications, candidate, candidates, court, employee, employees, employer, employers, entries, government, individual, items, leaders, materials, organization, organizations, owner, owners, patient, patients, product, products, property, request, requests, service, services, system, systems, user, users, value, vehicle

The most common verbs found after I | you must…

1 . I MUST SAY 10104 2 . I MUST ADMIT 6217 3 . YOU MUST USE 4022 4 . YOU MUST MAKE 2616 5 . YOU MUST PROVIDE 2588 6 . YOU MUST COMPLETE 2235 7 . YOU MUST TAKE 2056 8 . YOU MUST KNOW 1749 9 . YOU MUST PAY 1715

10 . YOU MUST KEEP 1607

According to AI,

Here are the most frequently found collocations to complete the above results as sentences:

  1. I must say that I‘m impressed with your work.
  2. I must admit that I was wrong about you.
  3. You must use this tool to get the job done.
  4. You must make sure that you follow the instructions carefully.
  5. You must provide all the necessary information before we can proceed.
  6. You must complete this form before the deadline.
  7. You must take responsibility for your actions.
  8. You must know that this is a difficult task.
  9. You must pay the fee before the due date.
  10. You must keep this document safe and secure.

– In the sentence “I must say that I’m impressed with your work”, “must” is used to emphasize the speaker’s admiration for the work. It’s as if the speaker feels compelled to express their admiration because they are so impressed.
– Similarly, in the sentence “I must admit that I was wrong about you”, “must” is used to emphasize the speaker’s realization that their previous judgment was incorrect. The speaker feels a strong need to admit their mistake.

In both cases, “must” adds emphasis and expresses a strong personal feeling or opinion.

Here are the most common phrases found in PlayPhrase.Me:

we must find (112) must have gone (81) we must take (60) we must make (59) somebody must have (59) must be some kind of (51) well I must say (44) must have done something (44) must do something (45) must be nice to (46) the show must go on (35) must have been hard (37) I must say I’m (32) really must go (30) must get back to (30) must know something (27) I must ask you to (41) I must admit I (39) must think I’m a (24) must go back to (23)

must be something wrong (21)

Here are examples completed by AI using the above phrases:

  1. We must find a solution to this problem soon.
  2. He must have gone to the store because he is not at home.
  3. We must take responsibility for our actions.
  4. We must make a decision before it’s too late.
  5. Somebody must have left the door open, it’s freezing in here.
  6. This must be some kind of joke, I can’t believe it.
  7. Well, I must say, your performance was outstanding.
  8. You must have done something right to get such good results.
  9. We must do something about the rising pollution levels.
  10. It must be nice to live near the beach.
  11. Despite the challenges, the show must go on.
  12. It must have been hard for you to move to a new city.
  13. I must say I’m impressed with your dedication.
  14. I really must go, my train leaves in an hour.
  15. I must get back to work, I have a deadline.
  16. You must know something about this, you were there.
  17. I must ask you to leave, we are closing.
  18. I must admit I was wrong about the situation.
  19. You must think I’m a fool, but I assure you I’m not.
  20. I must go back to my hometown, I miss it.
  21. There must be something wrong with the car, it won’t start.

Here are the sentences regrouped into grammar structure or usage:

Must + Base Verb (Expressing necessity or obligation)

  1. We must find a solution to this problem soon.
  2. We must take responsibility for our actions.
  3. We must make a decision before it’s too late.
  4. We must do something about the rising pollution levels.
  5. I really must go, my train leaves in an hour.
  6. I must get back to work, I have a deadline.
  7. I must go back to my hometown, I miss it.

Must + Have + Past Participle (Expressing certainty about the past)

  1. He must have gone to the store because he is not at home. B2
  2. Somebody must have left the door open, it’s freezing in here.
  3. You must have done something right to get such good results.
  4. It must have been hard for you to move to a new city.

Must + Be + Adjective/Noun/Preposition Phrase (Expressing certainty about the present) or Deductions and Conclusions.  B1

  1. This must be some kind of joke, I can’t believe it.
  2. It must be nice to live near the beach.
  3. There must be something wrong with the car, it won’t start.

Must + Infinitive (Expressing necessity or obligation in a more formal or emphatic way)

  1. I must ask you to leave, we are closing.

Must + Verb (in idiomatic expressions)

  1. Well, I must say, your performance was outstanding.
  2. I must say I’m impressed with your dedication.
  3. I must admit I was wrong about the situation.
  4. You must think I’m a fool, but I assure you I’m not.
  5. Despite the challenges, the show must go on.

EXPERT EXAMPLE:

 Some mysteries must remain.

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