Not having to
I don't have to fix the lamp today.
Left column: the order of the concepts, as chips — the slots you fill (who, action, thing, when) and the fixed words the language adds (a modal, a negator, a question marker). Click a slot, here or in the bar above, to choose what goes in it. Right column: the sentence those concepts make, the other orders the language allows, and the other ways to say it — each with what it changes. The rows are the languages switched on at the top of the page.
Try:
| Language | The order of the concepts | The sentence, other orders, other ways to say it |
|---|---|---|
| EnglishEnglish | don't nothave to modal The trap for every learner: 'don't have to' is freedom (no obligation), 'mustn't' is a ban. French and German students hear them the other way round. | I don't have to fix the lamp tomorrow. Other ways to say it I needn't fix the lamp tomorrow. formal British and a little formal: 'You needn't come.' Nothing forbids it — it is simply unnecessary. |
| FrançaisFrench | ne notsuis modalpas notobligé de modal The trap: je ne dois pas means 'I mustn't', not 'I don't have to'. The freedom is ne pas être obligé de, and obligé agrees like an adjective (obligée for a woman — written here masculine for je and vous). | demain Après-demain = the day after tomorrow. Je ne suis pas obligé de réparer la lampe demain. Other ways to say it Je n’ai pas besoin de réparer la lampe demain. neutral “I don't have need of” je n’ai pas besoin de — 'I have no need to'. Softer: not freedom from a rule but the absence of a reason. |
| EspañolSpanish | no nottengo modalque modal no tener que is the freedom: no tengo que trabajar mañana. no deber is the ban — the same trap as English must not / don't have to. | mañana Also 'morning' (la mañana): mañana por la mañana = tomorrow morning. Pasado mañana = the day after tomorrow. No tengo que arreglar la lámpara mañana. Other ways to say it No necesito arreglar la lámpara mañana. neutral no necesito — 'I don't need to'. Softer: not freedom from a rule but the absence of a reason. |
Hover a word to see which concept it fills. The verb is always in its dictionary form: every pattern here is built on a modal, which carries the person and the tense, so any verb stays grammatical in every language. Where the modal is an ending (Korean, Japanese, Hindi's 'can'), the stem is computed. What this cannot show is agreement beyond the modal — adjectives, plural objects — which the grammar chapters cover.
For the same idea said at three levels of politeness, see Compare.