What is the difference between ought to and must

The usage of ought to and must depend on the degree of emphasis in the sentence. The acceptance ought to make your sentence sound formal and must legalize your sentence. The usage of these words should be done suitably, or it might affect the conversation. The stress is highest when the must is used in the sentence. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.

If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. Forgot your password? Retrieve it. Ought to vs. Two clicks install ». Try it now ». After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.

More eBooks ». You must carry your passport at all times and You must not smoke in the toilets. Should and ought to are basically the same, although should is much more widely used than ought to. The negative and interrogative forms of ought to are becoming increasingly rare. Both should and ought to are used to talk about obligation and duty and to give advice.

One way of getting the meaning of should across to learners is to contrast its meaning with that of must and have to as the degree of obligation is considerably less, e. I have to go to the doctor as compared to I should go to the doctor. It is probably a good idea to practise the above verbs using a generative context, i. Other simple contexts where you give advice might include how to lose weight, what to do if you have a bad cold, how to give up smoking, how to be successful at an interview and so on.

At higher levels, it is more appropriate to contrast different modal verbs and to concentrate on nuances of meaning. At lower levels it is probably best to concentrate on the main meaning of each modal verb rather than to confuse learners by introducing too many meanings at once. Many coursebooks introduce the most important modal verbs first and concentrate on their main meanings initially. Make full use of the way coursebooks present and practise the key modal verbs.

The crucial difference between should, ought to and must, is based on the extent to which they emphasize, in the sense that must is the most emphatic of the trio. On the other hand, ought to is less emphatic than must, but more than should.

So, it is obvious that the degree of emphasis is least when we use should in our sentence. In the next one, we are using ought to, to talk about the recommendation.

Lastly, in the final sentence, we are using must, to talk about something which is much needed as per the circumstances. It also signifies the best thing to do in a case. Ought to is mainly used when we talk of a moral obligation or duty. Must is used to express the 'need of the hour' or necessity, which has to be done.