MUST & HAVE TO SHOULD & OUGHT TO

1) Must and have to

Have to and must have the same meaning in the affirmative and interrogative forms when
referring to obligation. Some grammarians think that must is slightly stronger, but for all practical
purposes, they mean the same thing:
Doctors have to attend medical school for several years before they can practice medicine.
Doctors must attend medical school for several years before they can practice medicine.
While have to and must can be used interchangeably, there are differences in usage, as Michael Swan
observes in Practical English Usage (Oxford University Press, 1995):
Both verbs can be used in British English to talk about obligation. (In American English, 'have to' is the
normal form.) British English often makes a distinction as follows. 'Must' is used mostly to talk about
the feelings and wishes of the speaker and hearer for example, to give or ask for orders. 'Have (got)
to' is used mostly to talk about obligations that come from outside for example from laws,
regulations, agreements and other people's orders. Compare:
I must stop smoking. (I want to.)
I have to stop smoking. Doctor's orders.
This is a terrible party. We really must go home.
This is a lovely party, but we've got to go home because of the baby-sitter.
Must you wear dirty old jeans all the time? (Is it personally important for you?)
Do you have to wear a tie at work? (Is there a regulation?)
A key distinction between must and have to can be found in the negative forms. Whereas You must
go and You have to go can be regarded as broadly the same in terms of meaning, You mustnt go and
You dont have to go are quite different, the first indicating that going is prohibited in some way, or
even dangerous, while the second implies an absence of obligation or need.
2) Should and ought to
Should and ought to are largely used interchangeably, although should is much more widely
used than ought to in American English. The negative and interrogative forms of ought to are
becoming increasingly rare. 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.g. I have
to go to the doctor as compared to I should go to the doctor.
When we use should, we give our own subjective opinion; ought to has a rather more
objective force, and is used when we are talking about laws, duties and regulations. In addition, ought
to is very often used when we want to express the idea that it is the right thing to do/the natural helpful
thing to do. Should has less of a moral flavor.