by R. S. KARUNARATNE

How to use 'must' and 'mustn't'

'Must' can be used to give advice.

You must read story books to improve your English.

Teachers must wait till the Government takes a decision on their problems.

I must ask him not to do that again.

'Must' is used to indicate that it is necessary to do something or that it is necessary that something happens.

I must go to the post office to buy some stamps.

When you enter a temple you must remove your shoes.

Must I go now itself? Yes, you must.

What I'm going to tell you is confidential. You must keep it a secret.

We are already late for the show. We must hurry.

'Mustn't has the negative effect. It means that it is not necessary for you to do something.

Students mustn't watch TV too much.

This is a library. You mustn't make any noise.

The teacher gave me a letter to post. I mustn't forget to post it.

You are provided with free text books. You mustn't lose them.

'Must' is used when you think something is likely to happen or is logical.

Nethmi returned from school just now. She must be hungry.

Rural children must be having a lot of problems with English.

You must be Miss Fahima. I was asked to meet you.

Both of them look alike. They must be twins.

The teacher must have known what I was about to ask.

We must have taken the same train.

'Must' is used when you insist that something should be done.

You must sit the Law College entrance examination. You are sure to pass.

You must go to the police station.

I must know from where you got such a huge collection of gold coins.

'Must' is used in informal language to indicate a thing that must be done.

A valid passport is a must for overseas travel.

Knowledge of English is a must to get a job.

'Must' is used when the speaker expects something to be done.

I must meet my grandmother tomorrow.

The clock has stopped. It must be 10 o'clock now.

'Must not' is used when the speaker expects or orders somebody not to do something.

You must not smoke because it's bad for your health.

People must not throw garbage onto the roods.

'Must not' is usually contracted as 'mustn't in speech.

You mustn't laugh at disabled people.

You mustn't leave the main door open.

We mustn't lose our valuables.

'Must not' is used to say that you do not have permission to do something.

We mustn't wear casual clothes to school.

You must not grow your hair long.

Quick quiz

Match each word in column A with its definition in column B. Check your answers with the key.

			Column A 	Column B 

1.			applause 	a. soldiers fighting on horses 
2.			abandon 	b. implied 
3.			bashful 	c. happy and cheerful 
4. 			battalion 	d. go away from a 
					person or place 
5. 			cavalry 	e. art of growing 
					flowers, fruit and vegetables 
6.			chaff 		f. a young cat 
7.			defile		g. quarrel 
8. 			despoil		h. child whose parents are dead 
9.			elocution 	i. splendid 
10.			ephemeral	j. to make something dirty 
11.		 	filch 		k. to deceive 
12.			finite 		l. things that are 
					considered useless 
13. 			gloom 		m. a young sheep 
14.		 	gnat		n. shy 
15.			hoodwink 	o. a small fly with two wings 
16. 			horticulture 	p. to rob a place 
of 					something valuable 
17.			implicit 	q. not stopping 
18.			incessant r.	a large group of soldiers 
19.		 	jolly 		s. lasting for a very short time 
20.		 	junk 		t. the art of speaking 
					clearly and effectively 
21.			kitten		u. limited in extent 
22. 			lamb 		v. approval expressed by 
					clapping 
23.			magnificent	w. to steal something 
					of small value 
24. 			orphan 		x. outer covering of any grain 
24.			 row 		y. partial darkness 

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Key: 1-v, 2-d, 3-n, 4-r, 5-a, 6-x, 7-j, 8-p, 9-t, 10-s 11-w, 12-u, 13-y, 14-o, 15-k, 16-e, 17-b, 18-q, 19-c, 20-l, 21-f, 22-m, 23-i, 24-h, 25-g.

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Collective nouns

Here is a list of animals. Read it carefully and fill in the blanks with suitable collective nouns.

Check your answers with the solution. 

1.	A -------- 	of antelopes 
2. 	A -------- 	of asses 
3. 	A -------- 	of bears 
4. 	A -------- 	of bees 
5. 	A -------- 	of buffaloes 
6. 	A -------- 	of camels 
7. 	A -------- 	of cats 
8. 	A -------- 	of young cats 
9. 	A -------- 	of cattle 
10.	A -------- 	of colts 
11.	A -------- 	of cubs 

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Solutions: 1. herd, 2. herd, 3. sloth, 4. swarm, 5. herd, 6. flock, 7. cluster, 8. kindle, 9. herd, 10. rag, 11. litter