How To Talk About Obligations In English

In life, we often do the things we want to do,

and we don't do the things we don't want to do.

But sometimes, there are things we don't want to do

where we can't decide not to do it.

Are you following me here?

There are certain things in life

where we are obligated to do it.

There are things in life where we have no choice.

In this English lesson,

I'll teach you seven different ways

we talk about those kinds of things.

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The first phrase I want to teach you,

one that we use in these types of situations,

is the phrase, "I have to..."

"I have to be at work on time."

"I have to be at work on time every day.

If I'm late day after day, eventually I will lose my job.

Eventually, my boss will fire me.

I have to be at work on time every day."

"My mom's birthday is soon, so I have to buy her a present.

I have to buy her a present

because I don't want to be the only one at the party

not giving her a present.

That would be really awkward.

So I need to go to a store, I need to find something nice,

and I have to buy her a present."

So one of the first phrases, "I have to..."

"I have to be on time for work."

"I have to buy my mom a birthday present."

The next phrase we use to talk about these situations

is the phrase, "I must..."

"I must do my homework tonight or tomorrow

the teacher will be mad at me."

I don't have to do my homework, I'm the teacher,

but that would be an example you would use as a student.

"Ah, I must do my homework tonight,

or the teacher's going to be annoyed

that I'm handing something in unfinished again."

You might also say this, "I must pay my taxes."

In Canada, we have to pay taxes.

We have income tax.

And I must pay my taxes every year

or the government would get really annoyed with me,

and eventually they might put me in jail.

That wouldn't be a good thing.

So if you were a student, you could say,

"I must do my homework tonight."

As a person living in a country where we pay taxes,

"I must pay my taxes.

I have no choice, I must pay them."

Another phrase we use in situations like this

is the phrase, "I need to..."

"I need to get my car fixed."

My car is making a funny noise,

so I need to get my car fixed.

If I don't get my car fixed,

the noise will probably get louder.

And eventually, when I do get it fixed,

it will cost even more,

so I need to get my car fixed.

I need to get my car fixed now.

Maybe my house has a leaky roof.

"I need to fix my roof."

I need to fix my roof because if I don't,

water will keep dripping in every time it rains.

And eventually, things will just start to rot

and things will be wet all the time.

So, "I need to fix my car, I have no choice."

"I need to fix my roof, I have no choice."

This next phrase is one we use in more formal situations,

like at work or when talking about the law in your country,

"I'm required to call my boss if I'm sick.

I'm required to call my boss to let him know that I'm sick

and to ask for a sick day.

It's one of the rules at my job for employees."

"I'm required to wear a bike helmet in Canada.

When I ride a bicycle, I'm required to wear a helmet.

It's the law."

So again, in both those situations, I do not have a choice.

If I'm sick, I'm required to call my boss

and ask for a sick day.

When I go for a bike ride, I'm required to wear a helmet.

This next one's a bit of a mouthful.

That means it's kind of hard to say,

and it's the phrase, "I have no choice but to..."

Here's some examples.

"As a teacher, if I see students doing something wrong,

I have no choice but to enforce the rules.

I have no choice but to tell them to stop

or to even have them go and talk to the principal."

"I have no choice but to eat healthy food right now."

Sometimes, as you get older,

you eat the wrong foods, and you don't exercise,

and then you have some health problems,

and the doctor says, "You must eat healthy food."

So in that case, you could say to a friend,

"I have no choice but to eat healthy food.

Eating unhealthy food is bad for me."

So sometimes, you have no choice.

As a teacher, when I see students doing something wrong,

I have no choice but to talk to them

or to enforce the rules.

And because I'm older and I need to be healthy,

I have no choice but to eat healthy food.

This next phrase is also quite formal,

and it's the phrase, "It's imperative that..."

You might hear something like this on the news.

Someone might say,

"It's imperative that we put a stop to pollution."

Basically, what they're saying is, "We have no choice.

We need to make this a priority.

It's imperative that we put a stop to pollution."

They might also say something like this.

"It's imperative that we clean up the world's oceans.

We have a bad track record on this planet

of throwing stuff in the ocean,

and it's imperative that we clean up the world's oceans."

So again, you would use these phrases

when you're trying to say that there's no choice,

that it's something that we have to do,

something we must do, something we need to do.

"It's imperative that we put a stop to pollution."

"It's imperative that we clean up the world's oceans."

Okay, here's the last phrase for this lesson,

and it's the phrase, "I'm obligated to..."

This is, again, quite formal,

and you would use it to describe something

that you must go to.

I might say this,

"I'm obligated to go to my sister's wedding."

Maybe I don't want to go to my sister's wedding.

By the way, I would totally go to my sister's wedding.

But, if I was someone who didn't want to go

but I knew that I had to go,

I would say, "I'm obligated to go to my sister's wedding.

Because I'm her brother and I'm part of her family,

I'm obligated to go."

You might have a job and someone might say, "Hey,

can you come out with me on Saturday to do something?"

You might say, "No, I'm obligated to work on Saturdays.

I have a job, but I'm obligated to work.

I have to work on Saturdays."

Normally, you don't work on Saturdays,

but maybe you have a job

where you're obligated to work overtime

or you're obligated to work on Saturdays.

So again, two situations

where you really don't have a choice,

two situations where you have to do something

because it's sort of required.

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for watching this English lesson.

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