Hi buddies, en el post de hoy os dejamos 10 expresiones útiles que hacen referencia a la toma de decisiones.

Algunas de las más comunes son:

To make a snap decision

To be in two minds about something
To have second thoughts on something
To take something into account
To change one’s mind
To have the final say
To give something a lot of thought
To dodge an issue
To keep in mind
To back someone’s decision

Y éstos son algunos ejemplos para que os ayuden a aclarar el significado y veáis cómo se usan en contexto:

Time was pressing and we needed to make a snap decision. (=make a quick decision)
They’re in two minds about accepting our proposal or not. (=they are not sure about it)
I said I will attend the event but now I’m having second thoughts on it. (=now I don’t think it’s a good idea)
There are several aspects to take into account before deciding.(=to consider)
He agreed to participate in this project. However, last week he changed his mind.(=he changed his opinion)
The boss has always the final say in financial decisions. (=he has the final decision)
We’ve given this issue a lot of thought.(=we have thought about it a lot)
She wasn’t able to address the problem and dodged the issue. (=to avoid a difficult situation)
They also need to keep in mind the consequences of this decision.(=to consider)
All of us backed his decision to relocate the factory.(=to give support to someone)

Toma nota y pon en práctica alguna de ellas en tu próxima reunión.

Hoy os dejamos unos “truquis” para utilizar los modales de obligación “must & have to” y también cómo expresar falta de obligación (lack of obligation) con los modales don’t have to, don’t need to, didn’t need to. Vamos allá!

HAVE TO / MUST

We use these verbs to say that is necessary to do something, but there are some differences:

Have to
The speaker is just giving facts. Or there’s an «outside authority» who tells you to do something.
E.g. I have to complete the report for our client.

We can use “have to” in all verb tenses.

Must
The speaker thinks is necessary, feels is his responsibility to do something.
E.g. I must finish all these paperwork today.

We only use “must” in the present tense, to express obligation in other tenses we use “have to”.
E.g. I had to finish all the paperwork last Friday.
I will have to finish all the paperwork before Friday.

DON’T HAVE TO / MUSTN’T

When used in the negative form, they mean different things:

Don’t have to /don’t need to
It means is NOT necessary that we do something.
E.g. You don’t have to bring anything.
They don’t need to bring anything.

Mustn’t
It means is necessary NOT to do something. (it’s an obligation not to do something).
E.g.He mustn’t talk to us like that.
You mustn’t tell anyone.
We mustn’t be late for the meeting.

DIDN’T NEED TO / DIDN’T HAVE TO DO

We use didn’t need to / didn’t have to meaning that something was not done because it was not necessary.
E.g. We didn’t need to call the technical services, we just fixed it ourselves.
They didn’t need to work until late. We still have time until deadline.
I didn’t have to prepare a cake, but they all appreciated it.

Parece mucho pero en realidad son tres cositas, te las resumimos:

-Must / have to > obligación, sobre todo “have to” que se puede utilizar en cualquier tiempo verbal

-Mustn’t > obligación de NO hacer algo (o prohibición de hacer algo)

-Don’t have to / don’t need to (y sus formas en pasado) > falta de obligación, o lo que es lo mismo, no es necesario hacer algo.

Esperamos que te sirva de ayuda 😉