Mindset for IELTS - Level 3 (Unit 04: Finance And Business)
According to some people, in order to become a success in business you (1) had to / have to/ have got to concentrate on your studies in school. Well, my father would certainly disagree. When he left school, he knew that you (2) mustn't/ don't have to/ didn't have to be ultra-qualified to succeed. He certainly didn't get the best grades in his class when he was there. When he left school, he felt that he could eventually become more of a success than his classmates, but knew that he (3) had to/ would have to/ needed to use his natural business acumen to get ahead.
He (4) must work/ should have worked/ had to work long hours during the whole time he was setting up his business. Although, not everything he did was perfect. He had failures as well as successes. Once, he lost everything! I remember my mother being upset and saying to him, 'If you didn't want to lose all of our family savings, you (5) didn't have to/ shouldn't have/ needn't have made such a risky investment!' But my father is such a good businessman that she (6) didn't have to/ mustn't have to / hadn't to wait long before we were pretty wealthy again, and going to the best restaurants once more.
Suggested Answer
(1)
had to: the grammar is incorrect, as the speaker is referring to how they see the general situation in the present, not referring to a particular time in the past.
have to/ have got to: both correct and acceptable in the Speaking test.However, have got to is a little too informal for the Writing part of the IELTS test.
(2)
mustn't: incorrect. The speaker is saying that there was no obligation to be 'ultra-qualified' at that time; mustn't is used when a speaker wants to suggest that there is an obligation NOT to do something.Also, mustn't refers to the present, not the past.
don't have to/ didn't have to: both correct, but don't have to suggests that the speaker is again generalising, while didn't have to is referring to the situation at the time when his/her father left school.
(3)
had to / would have to/ needed to: all correct. Had to again refers to the particular time at which his/her father started in business, and what the father felt he knew. Would have to has essentially the same meaning, but the grammar is slightly different, i.e. the father said at the time, 'I will have to use my natural business acumen to get ahead'; this then changes into reported speech as the father is quoted in the present time.
(4)
must: incorrect (see explanation for question 2)
should have: incorrect, as the grammar here -should+ have+ past participle - is used to express regret or blame (i.e. he should have worked long hours, but he didn't). When referring to a present time, should can be used to suggest 'I think there is an obligation to ...', e.g. 'You should work long hours every day, if you want to become successful.'
had to: correct, again this refers to a past obligation.
(5)
didn't have to+ made is incorrect grammatically.
shouldn't have/ needn't have: suggest slightly different meanings. Consider: 'He shouldn't have made such a risky investment!'= It's his fault we have no money. Whereas 'He needn't have made such a risky investment!'= Although it worked out OK in the end, there was no need to take such a big risk. Therefore, in this context, shouldn't have seems to fit better.
(6)
didn't have to: correct; there was no obligation, need or requirement to wait long before the money returned.
mustn't have to/ hadn't to: both grammatically incorrect.
(1) (2) (3)
(4) (5)
