Tonight, a summer story that ends in winter. Two neighbours in a field, with very different ideas about how to spend a sunny day.
Aesop’s Fables · Part 1 · Modal verbs: obligation and advice
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Must, have to, don’t have to, mustn’t, should, ought to and had better: the grammar of rules, duties and good advice, sung by Marcos, worked out by Demetria, advised by Sophia, and precisely footnoted by Philo.
🐜 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are the Grasshopper.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
MARCOS
I already know which one I am.
The fable
After Aesop
All summer long, a Grasshopper sat in the sun and sang. Every day he watched an Ant go past, carrying grains of wheat to her nest, one at a time.
“Why do you work so hard?” said the Grasshopper. “Come and sing with me! It’s summer!”
“I have to store food for the winter,” said the Ant. “And you should do the same.”
“Winter? Winter is months away,” laughed the Grasshopper. “I don’t have to worry about winter now.” And he went on singing.
Then winter came. The fields were white with snow, and the Grasshopper had nothing to eat. Hungry and cold, he knocked at the Ant’s door and asked for a little food.
“You sang all summer,” said the Ant. “Now you can dance all winter.”
Prepare today for the needs of tomorrow.
Must and have to: obligation
DEMETRIA
The Ant says: I have to store food. Nobody is ordering her. The winter is.
SOPHIA
Good. Have to is for obligations that come from outside: the weather, the law, the situation. Must is often the speaker’s own feeling: I must stop singing and work (I have decided). In the past, both become had to.
Don’t have to or mustn’t?
MARCOS
The Grasshopper says he doesn’t have to worry. So he mustn’t worry. Same thing.
SOPHIA
No, Marcos, and this is the most important point tonight. Don’t have to = it isn’t necessary (you can if you want). Mustn’t = it’s forbidden. You don’t have to work on a holiday. You mustn’t steal the Ant’s wheat.
Should and ought to: advice
PHILO
The Ant also says: you should do the same. That isn’t an obligation. It’s advice.
SOPHIA
Yes. Should and ought to give advice or say what is right: You should save some food. You ought to think about winter. They mean almost the same. Ought to is a little more formal, and it keeps its to.
Had better: advice with a warning
THE CLERK
You’d better finish those copies before the Librarian comes back.
SOPHIA
The Clerk has found the strongest advice of all. Had better (’d better) + bare verb warns: do it, or there will be trouble. You’d better store some food, or you’ll be hungry. It’s about now or the future, even though it looks past.
Should have: too late
PHILO
And in winter, the Grasshopper can only say: I should have worked. I shouldn’t have sung all summer.
DEMETRIA
And the Ant should have shared her food. That ending is very unkind.
SOPHIA
Two good points, and two uses of should have + past participle: regret, or criticism, about something that is too late to change. Many people have argued with the Ant, Demetria. You are in good company.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the fable |
|---|---|---|
| have to / had to | an obligation from outside | The Ant has to store food for the winter. |
| must | a strong obligation, often the speaker’s own | I must stop singing and work. |
| don’t have to | it isn’t necessary | He doesn’t have to work today. |
| mustn’t | it’s forbidden | You mustn’t steal the Ant’s wheat. |
| should / ought to | advice, what is right | You should save some food. |
| had better | strong advice with a warning | You’d better store food, or you’ll be hungry. |
| should have + past participle | regret or criticism about the past | He should have worked in summer. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best form
Choose the form that fits best.
1. It’s a holiday. You ___ work today, but you can if you want.
2. You ___ take food from somebody else’s nest. It’s stealing.
3. Winter is coming. You ___ save some food.
4. Last winter the Ant ___ work very hard.
5. It’s getting cold. You’d better ___ inside.
6. He ___ sung all summer. Now he is hungry.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing words.
7. The Ant said: “You ought think about the winter.”
8. I carry this grain home before dark. (obligation, from the situation)
9. In summer, the Grasshopper worry about food. (not necessary, past)
10. The Ant shared her food. It was winter! (criticism)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “You mustn’t come to the party if you’re busy.” (meaning: it isn’t necessary)
12. “We had to carry the wheat through the snow.”
13. “You had better to start working now.”
Now spend a summer as the Grasshopper yourself. Will you be ready for winter?Play the gamebook →