English Grammar Exercises for A2 – must, mustn’t and needn’t / don’t have to

1. Choose the correct verbs to complete the dialogue.

Alice    Is this your new video game?

Ryan    Yes, it is. You ¹ must / needn’t try it. It’s great!

Alice    How do I play?

Ryan    First, you ² have to / mustn’t escape from the castle.

Alice    How? Down the stairs?

Ryan    Stop! You ³ don’t have to / mustn’t open that door!

Alice    Oh! Too late! Am I dead?

Ryan    Yes. But you ⁴ don’t have to / must start again. Just press ‘B’ to continue.

Alice    OK, thanks. What now?

Ryan    You ⁵ have to / needn’t climb out of the window. But slowly! You ⁶ don’t have to / must be careful.

Alice    Oh no. I’m dead again. I’m not very good at this.

Ryan    Well, we ⁷ have to / needn’t play this game. I’ve got lots of others …

Alice    No, no. I ⁸ mustn’t / needn’t give up. Do I press ‘B’ again?

2. Complete the sentences with mustn’t or don’t / doesn’t have to.

1   He’s a brilliant student – he ……………………….. work hard to get good marks.

2   You can stay up late, but you ……………………….. make a lot of noise and wake up your sister.

3   We ……………………….. forget the name of our hotel.

4   She always pays by credit card so that she ……………………….. carry a lot of money with her.

5   You ……………………….. tell Jack about the party – it’s a secret!

6   The bus leaves at 9 a.m. exactly, so you ……………………….. be late.

7   We ……………………….. wear a uniform to school, but we ……………………….. wear jeans or trainers.

3. Look at the advert for the quiz night. Then complete the sentences with must / have to, mustn’t or don’t have to / needn’t. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

1   You ……………………………… be part of a team.

2   You ……………………………… arrive after 6 o’clock.

3   You ……………………………… pay £3 to enter the quiz.

4   You ……………………………… be a student at the school.

5   You ……………………………… use a smartphone during the quiz.

4. Decide whether must or have to is better in these sentences.

1   The new Bond film is fantastic. You have to / must see it!

2   I’m not very good at this video game. I have to / must practise.

3   This app is quite expensive because you have to / must pay extra for each new level.

4   Jack was upset about missing the film night. We have to / must invite him next time.

5   You can’t buy that game in shops any more – you have to / must download it from the website.

5. Write sentences about rules at school. Use have to, must and needn’t and the ideas below. If you can, add your own idea.

arrive at school on time        be quiet in the corridors

eat snacks in class        hand in homework on time

have lunch in the canteen        use a mobile phone in class

wear a school uniform

………………………………………………………………………….

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6. Rewrite the underlined parts of the sentences with must, have to, don’t have to, or mustn’t and a subject.

1   To be an extra in the TV show, it is necessary to be in the studio before 7 a.m.

      To be an extra in the TV show, you have to be in the studio before 7 a.m.

2   You don’t need to come to the meeting, but we’d like it if you did.

     ……………………………………………………….

3   Do not enter this room under any circumstances.

     ……………………………………………………….

4   It’s really necessary for me to finish this homework before we go out.

     ……………………………………………………….

5   It’s a terrible idea to criticise people when you don’t know all the facts.

     ……………………………………………………….

6   There’s no need for me to get up early tomorrow. We have a day off school

     ……………………………………………………….

7   Her agent says that it’s necessary for her to audition for the part because it’s a great opportunity.

     ……………………………………………………….

8   Don’t watch that film! It will upset you too much.

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