‘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.
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:
- I must say that I‘m impressed with your work.
- I must admit that I was wrong about you.
- You must use this tool to get the job done.
- You must make sure that you follow the instructions carefully.
- You must provide all the necessary information before we can proceed.
- You must complete this form before the deadline.
- You must take responsibility for your actions.
- You must know that this is a difficult task.
- You must pay the fee before the due date.
- 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:
- We must find a solution to this problem soon.
- He must have gone to the store because he is not at home.
- We must take responsibility for our actions.
- We must make a decision before it’s too late.
- Somebody must have left the door open, it’s freezing in here.
- This must be some kind of joke, I can’t believe it.
- Well, I must say, your performance was outstanding.
- You must have done something right to get such good results.
- We must do something about the rising pollution levels.
- It must be nice to live near the beach.
- Despite the challenges, the show must go on.
- It must have been hard for you to move to a new city.
- I must say I’m impressed with your dedication.
- I really must go, my train leaves in an hour.
- I must get back to work, I have a deadline.
- You must know something about this, you were there.
- I must ask you to leave, we are closing.
- I must admit I was wrong about the situation.
- You must think I’m a fool, but I assure you I’m not.
- I must go back to my hometown, I miss it.
- 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)
- We must find a solution to this problem soon.
- We must take responsibility for our actions.
- We must make a decision before it’s too late.
- We must do something about the rising pollution levels.
- I really must go, my train leaves in an hour.
- I must get back to work, I have a deadline.
- I must go back to my hometown, I miss it.
Must + Have + Past Participle (Expressing certainty about the past)
- He must have gone to the store because he is not at home. B2
- Somebody must have left the door open, it’s freezing in here.
- You must have done something right to get such good results.
- 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
- This must be some kind of joke, I can’t believe it.
- It must be nice to live near the beach.
- 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)
- I must ask you to leave, we are closing.
Must + Verb (in idiomatic expressions)
- Well, I must say, your performance was outstanding.
- I must say I’m impressed with your dedication.
- I must admit I was wrong about the situation.
- You must think I’m a fool, but I assure you I’m not.
- Despite the challenges, the show must go on.
EXPERT EXAMPLE: