Grammar
Modals
Palestine
Obligation
Every October, across the hills of Palestine, families leave their homes early in the morning —
they have to start before the sun gets too hot. Children must help their parents
reach the highest branches. Everyone should bring their own basket. Welcome to the
Palestinian olive harvest: one of the world’s most beautiful illustrations of modals of
obligation and permission.
What Are Modals of Obligation and Permission?
Modals are special auxiliary (helping) verbs that change the meaning of the main verb.
The modals in this lesson tell us whether something is necessary, advisable,
prohibited, or permitted. They are some of the most frequently used
structures in everyday English, so getting them right matters enormously.
Modals of obligation always take the bare infinitive (verb without “to”):
You must go. You should study. You can stay. — NOT “You must to go” or “You should to study.”
The main modals at a glance
| Modal | Meaning | Strength | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
must |
Strong internal obligation (speaker feels it is necessary) | 🔴 Strong | I must remember to call her. |
have to |
Strong external obligation (a rule, law, or external force) | 🔴 Strong | We have to pay our taxes. |
should / ought to |
Advice or weaker moral obligation | 🟡 Medium | You should drink more water. |
mustn't |
Prohibition — it is NOT allowed | 🔴 Strong negative | You mustn’t park here. |
don't have to |
No obligation — it is not necessary (but it is permitted) | 🟢 No pressure | You don’t have to come if you’re tired. |
can / can't |
Permission (can) or prohibition (can’t) | 🟡 Neutral | You can use my laptop. You can’t smoke here. |
be allowed to |
Permission given by a rule or authority | 🟡 Neutral | Students are allowed to use dictionaries. |
had to |
Past obligation (past form of must / have to) | Past | She had to leave early yesterday. |
Both express strong obligation, but the source differs.
“I must call my grandmother” = my own feeling of duty.
“I have to call my grandmother” = she (or someone) has asked me to; it is externally required.
Palestinian Olive Country: Modals in Action
🫒 Palestine — The Land of Olive Trees
Olive trees are woven into the soul of Palestinian life. Around 80,000 Palestinian
families depend on olive farming for their income, and olive oil accounts for
approximately 14% of the Palestinian economy. Some trees growing in the
West Bank are estimated to be up to 4,000 years old — living links to
ancient history. Nearly 48% of the cultivated land in the West Bank and
Gaza is planted with olive trees.
Every autumn — usually in October — families gather for the olive harvest in a
tradition known as al Ouna, meaning “mutual help.” Neighbours and relatives work
together, sharing food, stories, and labour. Nobody has to come alone.
Palestinian hospitality is equally defining. Offering Arabic coffee —
typically spiced with cardamom — to any guest is a near-sacred obligation. When someone
visits a Palestinian home, the host must offer coffee within minutes; to arrive
and not be served is almost unthinkable. A guest should accept the first cup as
a gesture of respect.
Palestinian culture also has its rules for everyday life. School is compulsory
from age 6 through Grade 10 — children have to attend. At the end of secondary
school, students must pass the Tawjihi, the national examination that is the
gateway to university. Young Palestinians also learn that they should preserve their
cultural heritage — from the ancient craft of tatreez (Palestinian embroidery,
added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2021) to the stories carried in every
olive harvest.
Did you notice the modals threaded through that passage? Let us now look at the same ideas in
a structured way, moving from strong obligation through to permission.
Must vs Have To — Feeling the Difference
Both must and have to express strong obligation, but the nuance matters at B1 level:
- A Palestinian grandmother feels she must pass her tatreez patterns
to her granddaughters — it is her personal, heartfelt duty. - A school in Ramallah requires that students wear uniform — they
have to wear it because the school says so. - The government requires farmers to register their land — they
have to register it by law.
In questions and negatives:
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Question (must) | Must I bring my ID card to the checkpoint? |
| Question (have to) | Do we have to finish the report today? |
| Negative (mustn’t) | You mustn’t pick olives from a neighbour’s tree. |
| Negative (don’t have to) | You don’t have to bring food — we have plenty. |
Should and Ought To — Giving Advice
When you want to give advice or make a gentle recommendation — not a strict rule —
use should or ought to. They are interchangeable in most contexts, though
ought to sounds slightly more formal:
- You should visit Palestine in October — the harvest is breathtaking.
- Students ought to prepare well for the Tawjihi exam.
- Visitors should learn a few words of Arabic — it means a lot to people.
Can and Be Allowed To — Talking About Permission
Use can and be allowed to to express what is permitted.
They are close in meaning, but be allowed to often implies that the permission
comes from a rule or authority:
- In many Palestinian villages, children can climb the olive trees to reach the high branches.
- Visitors are allowed to photograph the ancient olive groves in many areas.
- “Can I try some of the olive oil?” — “Of course! Here, take a piece of bread too.”
Common Mistakes for Spanish Speakers
⚠️ Watch out — these errors are very common for Spanish learners
❌ “You don’t must eat before the harvest. It’s forbidden.”
✅ “You mustn’t eat before the harvest.” / “You can’t eat before the harvest.”
“Don’t must” does not exist in English. For prohibition, use mustn’t or can’t.
Spanish speakers sometimes translate “no debes” or “no se puede” word-by-word, producing this error.
❌ “You don’t have to enter the mosque without permission — it’s wrong.”
✅ “You mustn’t enter the mosque without permission.”
This is the single most common modal mistake: confusing don’t have to (no obligation,
but it’s allowed) with mustn’t (prohibition — NOT allowed). In Spanish, “no tienes que”
and “no debes” can both mean “you shouldn’t/mustn’t,” but in English they are completely different.
❌ “They must to help with the harvest every October.”
✅ “They must help with the harvest every October.”
Modals are followed by the bare infinitive (no “to”). Spanish “deben ayudar”
follows the same pattern, but learners sometimes add “to” by analogy with “want to help” or
“need to help.”
❌ “I should to learn more Arabic before I visit.”
✅ “I should learn more Arabic before I visit.”
The same bare infinitive rule applies to should. Never “should to.”
❌ “She musted present her ID at the border.”
✅ “She had to present her ID at the border.”
Must has no past form. To talk about past obligation, always use had to.
Spanish learners sometimes try to conjugate “must” like a regular verb — but modals never change.
Example Bank: 18 Sentences from Palestinian Life
- must Farmers must check the olives daily as harvest approaches.
- must Every family must register their olive trees with the local authority.
- have to Palestinian students have to study Arabic, English and mathematics from year one.
- have to To enter university, you have to pass the Tawjihi exam.
- have to We had to start the harvest early because rain was coming.
- should Visitors should accept the first cup of Arabic coffee — it’s a sign of welcome.
- should Young embroiderers should learn the traditional tatreez patterns from their grandmothers.
- should You should use both hands when accepting a gift — it shows respect.
- ought to Schools ought to teach the history of the olive harvest as part of the curriculum.
- mustn’t You mustn’t waste olive oil — in Palestinian culture it is deeply precious.
- mustn’t Children mustn’t play in the olive groves during harvest — they could damage the crop.
- don’t have to You don’t have to come to every harvest day, but the whole family usually does.
- don’t have to Guests don’t have to bring food — the host always prepares more than enough.
- can Children can climb the lower branches of old olive trees during the harvest.
- can You can buy fresh olive oil at local markets in October and November.
- can’t You can’t rush the olive harvest — each tree must be picked with care.
- allowed to Volunteers from abroad are allowed to join Palestinian families during the harvest season.
- allowed to University students are allowed to use electronic dictionaries in some examinations.
Quick Practice Quiz
Choose the best answer for each question.
1. “The school _____ students to use mobile phones during exams.”
- mustn’t allow
- doesn’t allow / doesn’t let — or: students are not allowed to use mobiles
- can’t allows
- shouldn’t to allow
2. Which sentence is grammatically correct?
- You must to help during the harvest.
- You must helping during the harvest.
- You must help during the harvest. ✓
- You musted help during the harvest.
3. “I have a day off tomorrow — I _____ go to work.”
- mustn’t
- don’t have to ✓
- shouldn’t
- can’t
4. She was late for the Tawjihi exam. She _____ leave home earlier.
- should have ✓ (C1 level bonus) / should
- musted
- had must
- was must to
5. “You _____ walk on the olive trees’ roots — it can damage them.”
- don’t have to
- shouldn’t / mustn’t ✓
- can’t to
- not must
▶ Show answer key
Q1 → b) Students are not allowed to use mobiles / the school doesn’t allow it. (Permission structure; “mustn’t allow” changes the meaning — it would prohibit the school itself.)
Q2 → c) “You must help” — bare infinitive, no “to”.
Q3 → b) “Don’t have to” = no obligation. Tomorrow is a day off — going to work isn’t necessary, but it’s not forbidden either. “Mustn’t” would wrongly imply it is prohibited.
Q4 → a) At B1 level, should works well: “She should leave home earlier.” (The perfect form “should have left” is a C1 structure covered in the mixed conditionals lesson.)
Q5 → b) “Shouldn’t” or “mustn’t” — both work here. Walking on roots is harmful and should be avoided. “Don’t have to” would wrongly imply it’s simply optional.
Related Lessons
Cultural Atlas — Palestinian etiquette and customs: culturalatlas.sbs.com.au
IMEU — Palestinian social customs and traditions: imeu.org
ReliefWeb — Olive trees fact sheet: reliefweb.int
Wikipedia — Education in Palestine: en.wikipedia.org
Al Jazeera — Palestinian embroidery (tatreez) UNESCO recognition: aljazeera.com
Arab America — Palestinian coffee culture: arabamerica.com
Also on the blog: Knowing when to use must or should becomes even clearer when you pair it with solid article use — read English Articles: A, An, The & Zero Article (B1 Guide) next.