Obligation and Inference

Level 6Sounds Like modalnost: mora da; treba da

Мора да учиш means "You have to study". Мора да е дома means "He must be home": the speaker is not giving an order but drawing a conclusion.

How It Works

Obligation. Someone has to do something: Мора да учиш секој ден. (You have to study every day.) Треба да заминеме пред пет. (We should leave before five.) Мора is strong; треба is advice or duty, like "should".

Conclusion. The speaker reasons from what they see or know. Мора да е дома, светлото е вклучено. (He must be home; the light is on.) For the past, use the l-form after да: Мора да заборавил на состанокот. (He must have forgotten about the meeting.) See must for guessing.

Expectation. Треба да can say what should happen according to a plan or to what we know: Возот треба да пристигне за десет минути. (The train should arrive in ten minutes.)

Past obligation or past guess? Мораше да замине means "He had to leave". Мора да заминал means "He must have left". The past form мораше keeps the obligation in the past; for a guess about the past, keep мора and put the l-form after да. Требаше да means "should have".

Where не goes. Не мора да е дома means "He doesn't have to be home" or "He isn't necessarily home". Мора да не е дома means "He must be out": a conclusion that he is not home. To forbid something, use не смее да.

A complaining мора. Мора can also show annoyance at a habit: Тој мора сѐ да знае. (He always has to know everything.)

Examples (6)

  1. Мора да учиш секој ден.

    You have to study every day.

    Word by Word: Must to you-study every day.

    Obligation.

  2. Мора да е дома, светлото е вклучено.

    He must be home; the light is on.

    Word by Word: Must to is at-home, light-the is switched-on.

    A conclusion from what the speaker sees.

  3. Мора да заборавил на состанокот.

    He must have forgotten about the meeting.

    Word by Word: Must to forgot about meeting-the.

    A conclusion about the past: мора да + the l-form.

  4. Треба да заминеме пред пет.

    We should leave before five.

    Word by Word: Should to we-leave before five.

    Duty or advice.

  5. Возот треба да пристигне за десет минути.

    The train should arrive in ten minutes.

    Word by Word: Train-the should to arrives in ten minutes.

    What is expected to happen.

  6. Мора да не ме слушнала.

    She must not have heard me.

    Word by Word: Must to not me heard.

    Не after да: the conclusion itself is negative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using мораше for a guess about the past.

    Мораше веќе да замине. (meaning: I guess he has already left)
    Мора веќе да заминал.

    Мораше да замине means that he had to leave. For a conclusion about the past, keep мора and use the l-form after да.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Obligation and InferenceLevel 6

Learn This First

Obligation and inference build on ќе да and требаше да.

Words in This Pattern