Learn the different ways to use the phrase "have to"
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| Jonathan: In this lesson, you’ll learn the different ways to use the phrase “have to”. We’ll listen to a conversation between Sheila and Dave at their apartment. |
| Dede: Sheila and Dave are talking about Sheila’s parents. They are coming to visit Washington, D.C. soon. |
| Jonathan Sheila and Dave are relaxing and chatting so they speak very casually with each other. |
| Dede: Alright, that’s it, ready? |
| Jonathan: Set. Go! |
| Dede: |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Sheila: Oh man, my parents are coming next weekend. They want me to show them around D.C. |
| Dave: Sheila, the tour guide... I like it! |
| Sheila: What should we do...? What should I show them? |
| Dave: You have to go to the museums. The Smithsonian is superb. And I think no trip to D.C. is complete without a tour of the White House. |
| Sheila: Definitely. And I think we have to go to all the presidential monuments... Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington... |
| Dave: Don't forget the memorials for World War II and Vietnam. |
| Sheila: Oh yeah, I forgot about them. What about the Pentagon? |
| Dave: I don't think you have to go there...it's just a big office building. |
| Sheila: Yeah, but my dad was in the Navy. I'm pretty sure we do have to. |
| Dave: Fair enough. Also, the cherry blossoms by the Potomac are lovely. |
| Sheila: That's true! And my mom said we have to take a stroll on the National Mall. |
| Dave: It would be great to go on a dome tour in the rotunda, but that's difficult. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Sheila: Oh man, my parents are coming next weekend. They want me to show them around D.C. |
| Dave: Sheila, the tour guide... I like it! |
| Sheila: What should we do...? What should I show them? |
| Dave: You have to go to the museums. The Smithsonian is superb. And I think no trip to D.C. is complete without a tour of the White House. |
| Sheila: Definitely. And I think we have to go to all the presidential monuments... Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington... |
| Dave: Don't forget the memorials for World War II and Vietnam. |
| Sheila: Oh yeah, I forgot about them. What about the Pentagon? |
| Dave: I don't think you have to go there...it's just a big office building. |
| Sheila: Yeah, but my dad was in the Navy. I'm pretty sure we do have to. |
| Dave: Fair enough. Also, the cherry blossoms by the Potomac are lovely. |
| Sheila: That's true! And my mom said we have to take a stroll on the National Mall. |
| Dave: It would be great to go on a dome tour in the rotunda, but that's difficult. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Sheila: Oh man, my parents are coming next weekend. They want me to show them around D.C. |
| Dede: Oh man, my parents are coming next weekend. They want me to show them around D.C. |
| Dave: Sheila, the tour guide... I like it! |
| Dede: Sheila, the tour guide... I like it! |
| Sheila: What should we do...? What should I show them? |
| Dede: What should we do...? What should I show them? |
| Dave: You have to go to the museums. The Smithsonian is superb. And I think no trip to D.C. is complete without a tour of the White House. |
| Dede: You have to go to the museums. The Smithsonian is superb. And I think no trip to D.C. is complete without a tour of the White House. |
| Sheila: Definitely. And I think we have to go to all the presidential monuments... Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington... |
| Dede: Definitely. And I think we have to go to all the presidential monuments... Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington... |
| Dave: Don't forget the memorials for World War II and Vietnam. |
| Dede: Don't forget the memorials for World War II and Vietnam. |
| Sheila: Oh yeah, I forgot about them. What about the Pentagon? |
| Dede: Oh yeah, I forgot about them. What about the Pentagon? |
| Dave: I don't think you have to go there...it's just a big office building. |
| Dede: I don't think you have to go there...it's just a big office building. |
| Sheila: Yeah, but my dad was in the Navy. I'm pretty sure we do have to. |
| Dede: Yeah, but my dad was in the Navy. I'm pretty sure we do have to. |
| Dave: Fair enough. Also, the cherry blossoms by the Potomac are lovely. |
| Dede: Fair enough. Also, the cherry blossoms by the Potomac are lovely. |
| Sheila: That's true! And my mom said we have to take a stroll on the National Mall. |
| Dede: That's true! And my mom said we have to take a stroll on the National Mall. |
| Dave: It would be great to go on a dome tour in the rotunda, but that's difficult. |
| Dede: It would be great to go on a dome tour in the rotunda, but that's difficult. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dede: I didn’t realize that D.C. had such a big tourism industry. |
| Jonathan: Tourism in Washington, D.C. is a big business. Other than government, tourism plays a huge role in the city’s economy as millions of people come each year. |
| Dede: And what exactly do they do there? |
| Jonathan: There are tons of famous government buildings and you can tour the wonderful museums, see the famous monuments and memorials, and visit places of power and importance for the US government. |
| Dede: I guess that sounds pretty cool. Do you ever get to meet famous politicians? |
| Jonathan: Not usually, but you know, certain Metro stops are more popular with tourists and there are sometimes minor conflicts between Washingtonians and tourists when they try and get to work or someplace but masses of tourists slow them down. |
| Dede: Haha! I guess that is the same with every “serious” city that attracts a lot of tourists! |
| Jonathan: It must be! Want to take a look at the vocab now? |
| Dede: You betcha! |
| Jonathan: Great. Then let’s get going! |
| Vocabulary and Phrases |
| Dede: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Jonathan: the Smithsonian [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a group of public and free museums owned and operated by the government in Washington D.C. |
| Jonathan: the Smithsonian [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: the Smithsonian [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: superb [natural native speed] |
| Dede: excellent, great |
| Jonathan: superb [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: superb [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: monument [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a building or sculpture built as a memorial to someone or something |
| Jonathan: monument [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: monument [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: memorial [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a sculpture or place remembering a dead person or an event where many people died such as a war or natural disaster |
| Jonathan: memorial [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: memorial [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: Navy [natural native speed] |
| Dede: the part of the military that works on sea |
| Jonathan: Navy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: Navy [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: Potomac [natural native speed] |
| Dede: the river that flows by Washington, D.C. |
| Jonathan: Potomac [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: Potomac [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: to take a stroll [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to take a leisurely walk |
| Jonathan: to take a stroll [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: to take a stroll [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: the National Mall [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a large rectangular park in the middle of Washington, D.C. bordered by the Smithsonian museums, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument |
| Jonathan: the National Mall [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: the National Mall [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: rotunda [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a round building, usually with a dome on top |
| Jonathan: rotunda [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: rotunda [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Dede: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jonathan: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Dede: That’s our vocab for this lesson. Let’s examine some of the words and phrases we have from this dialogue. |
| Jonathan: Sure thing. We have two and the first is… |
| Dede: "Potomac", which is the river that flows by Washington, D.C. |
| Jonathan: In the dialogue, we heard “cherry blossoms by the Potomac are lovely." In 1912, the U.S. received a gift of hundreds of cherry trees from Japan and now springtime in Washington D.C. is popular for tourists as the trees bloom beautifully. |
| Dede: Aww… That sounds beautiful! |
| Jonathan: It was! And the 100-year anniversary of the gift went by just recently! |
| Dede: It must have been nice. |
| Jonathan: Yeah, I wish I could have been there let’s. Oh well, let's move on the next word. |
| Dede: It is, "rotunda", which means a round building, usually with a dome. |
| Jonathan: Dave says “It would be great to go on a dome tour in the rotunda”. In this case, Dave is referring to the rotunda and dome of the Capitol building. Located in the exact middle of Washington, D.C. The capitol rotunda’s dome offers some of the best views of the city. Unfortunately, only US Congresspeople can give tours of the dome, so most visitors to the city never get to experience them. |
| Dede: Those must be really exciting! I’ve seen pictures of the building and it looks beautiful |
| Jonathan: I’d love to go too! I think especially for Dave and Sheila it would be exciting! |
| Dede: I bet! Well that’s all of our phrases for this week. Let’s move onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Dede: The grammar focus for this lesson is using “have to” as a modal verb. |
| Jonathan: Dave says… |
| Dede: You have to go to the museums. |
| Jonathan: Modal verbs are useful words that are essential for sounding natural when writing and speaking. |
| Dede: By choosing correct modals, we can convey the correct level of urgency and necessity. “To have” is an unusual modal verb because it has a different meaning as “to possess”. |
| Jonathan: However, as we can see in the dialogue from this lesson, we can use this modal in the same manner as “should”, “must”, or “need to”. The biggest difference between these modals is their level and tone |
| Dede: “Should” is the weakest |
| Jonathan: And “must” and “need to” are the strongest |
| Dede: “Have to” is useful because it’s in the middle. We use it when we need to do something but it’s not quite as strict. |
| Jonathan: Just a quick note. “Need to” and “have to” are not true modals because they conjugate like regular verbs, but they function in the same way so we group them together. |
| Dede: OK- I hope that satisfied the grammar nerds out there. |
| Jonathan: I count myself as a grammar nerd, so thank you very much. |
| Dede: Anyhow, when we say “have” to, we can use it either as an obligation or as a recommendation. |
| Jonathan: Like if you visited France, I could say “You have to go up the Eiffel Tower; it’s beautiful!” |
| Dede: That would be a recommendation. |
| Jonathan: But if I said, “I have to go home to do my homework.” |
| Dede: That would be an obligation. |
| Jonathan: Let’s look at three examples from the dialogue. |
| Dave: "You have to go to the museums." |
| Jonathan: What would that be? |
| Dede: Hmm… I think a recommendation? |
| Jonathan: Exactly. What about this one… |
| Dave: "I don't think you have to go there." |
| Dede: Hmm… That’s kind of tricky… I think still a recommendation? |
| Jonathan: Yeah! That’s right – he’s saying that he doesn’t recommend that you go to the Pentagon |
| Dede: I see… Let’s hear one more… |
| Sheila: "And my mom said we have to take a stroll on the Mall." |
| Jonathan: What do you think? |
| Dede: Mmm… Maybe…obligation? Because her mom wants her to? |
| Jonathan: Yeah! I think that’s right! |
| Dede: Hooray! |
| Jonathan: Alright folks, unfortunately we have to go. |
| Dede: Obligation! |
| Jonathan: Haha, good! |
| Dede: So that just about concludes this lesson. |
17 Comments
HideWhere would you like to go if you had a chance to visit Washington D.C.?
Hello Rifa,
I hope you get the opportunity to too!
Thanks for joining us here at EnglishClass101.com!
If you ever have any questions, please let us know! 😉
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I just knew that we can take a tour at the White House. I hope someday I can visit Washington DC and visit all Dave's recommendations. 😜
Hello Anne,
Thank you for your comment. 😇
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
We wish you good luck with your language studies.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team EnglishClass101.com
A couple years ago I was in Washington, DC. The National Mall with its amazing museums was the high light. You have to see it.
Happy English learning, Anne
Hello Az Ho,
Thank you so much for the heart and thumbs up!😇❤️️
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
We wish you good luck with your language studies.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team EnglishClass101.com
❤️️👍❤️️❤️️👍
Hi Eva,
Thank you for the follow up.
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Laura
Team EnglishClass101.com
Thanks for replying! I only find the speaker iron. Can't find any recorder iron next to it.
Hi Eva,
Thank you for posting!
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You can find it in the Lesson Materials: Line by line and Vocabulary sections (the little microphone icon next to the speaker icon).
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Laura
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hi,
You mention that you have Pronunciation & Accent Review part. I would like to compare my voice to a native speaker’s with voice recorder, but I can find it after I finished the lesson. Thanks a ton.