Polyglot Dictionary

must

/mʌst/

modal verb A2
V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Core Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

negative
must not / mustn't

Meaning

  1. deber, tener que (obligación)

    Expresses strong obligation or a rule, often one the speaker considers important themselves — compare "have to", which more often points to an outside rule.

    • You must wear a seatbelt.

      Debes usar el cinturón de seguridad.

  2. deber de (deducción lógica)

    Expresses a confident logical conclusion, not an obligation.

    • She must be tired after the trip.

      Ella debe de estar cansada después del viaje.

Práctica

1 ¿Qué significa must?

2 Completa el espacio en blanco: You ___ wear a seatbelt.

3 ¿Qué gráfico de características corresponde a must?

Usage notes

"Must" has no infinitive, no "-s" form, and no past tense of its own — "had to" fills in for the past. The negative "must not" ("mustn't") means forbidden, not just "don't have to" (that's "don't have to" / "don't need to").

verbmodal-verbirregularcore-vocabularygrammar

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