Understanding how to talk about obligations is essential for everyday conversations in English, whether you're discussing your responsibilities at work, home, or school. Knowing the difference between have to and had to gives you the ability to express what you must do now, in the future, or what you were required to do in the past.
How do you use "have to" and "had to" to express obligation?
The structure have to is used to communicate obligation in the present or future [0:28]. When you say "I have to work today," you're referring to something required of you right now. You can also use it for a future obligation you already know about: "I have to work tomorrow" [0:50].
On the other hand, had to expresses obligation in the past [1:05]. For instance, "I had to work yesterday" tells the listener that this responsibility already happened.
- Have to = present or future obligation.
- Had to = past obligation.
How do you form questions about obligation?
To ask about past obligations, follow this structure: did + subject + have to + action [1:18]. A practical example is "Did you have to work yesterday?" Short answers are simple: "Yes, I did" or "No, I didn't" [1:33].
Another useful example involves listing multiple past obligations [1:42]. Imagine someone asks you what you did yesterday, and you answer: "I had to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. I also had to sweep and mop." Each activity represents a past obligation you needed to complete.
What does obligation look like in a real conversation?
A role play between a job interviewer and a candidate named Emma illustrates these structures in a professional context [2:08]. During the interview, Emma describes her previous responsibilities using had to naturally:
- "I had to help them come up with a design strategy" [2:53].
- "I also had to meet the clients every week to show them updates" [3:15].
Notice how Emma uses had to because she is talking about tasks she was responsible for in previous jobs. She is no longer doing those things, so the past form is the correct choice.
How can you tell the difference between "had to" activities?
Pay close attention to the specific action mentioned. In the role play, a true or false question asks whether Emma had to prepare weekly reports [4:01]. The correct answer is false — she didn't have to prepare reports every week. Instead, she had to meet the clients every week [4:18]. This distinction matters because understanding exact obligations helps you answer comprehension questions accurately and communicate with precision.
What vocabulary from the interview is worth learning?
The role play also introduces useful professional vocabulary:
- Ad agencies: companies focused on advertising.
- Visual assets: elements like logos, fonts, and images used in design.
- Curate the aesthetic: select and organize the visual style of a project.
- Design strategy: a plan for how the visual components of a product will work together.
Emma also mentions several software programs — Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and PaintShop Pro [3:36] — which are common tools in graphic design roles.
Now it's your turn to practice. Think about your recent responsibilities and share in the comments: what did you have to do recently at home, work, or school? Use had to to describe each obligation and build confidence with this structure.
