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Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? Modals of obligation for travel and expense rules

A B2 Business English lesson plan on modals of obligation for travel and expense rules: what staff must, can't and don't have to do.

Grammar
Must, have to, must not vs don't have to (You don't have to keep the paper receipt.), be allowed to, should, be supposed to, and had to for the past.
Topic
Claiming travel expenses on a two-week trip to Rotterdam, under a fictional coffee roaster's policy, with expense report, reimburse and meal allowance.
Activities
An expenses policy to read, a briefing with the finance director, self-checking drills, a chat with a colleague abroad, a wheel of rules, and a note and a recording for homework.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: Bags Packed?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and discussOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the vocabulary: travel and expensesVocabularyTry it
    • Match the phrases to the situationsMatchUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Reading: The Fine Print

    • Read the travel and expenses policyReal-life documentTry it
    • True or false? Read the policy againTrue or falseUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what does the policy say?QuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Listening: Market Research, Apparently

    • Listen to Priya and RyanListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: Priya's rulesQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Must, Must Not, Don't Have To

    • Study the scheme: rules, permission and adviceGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct answer: what does it mean?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: forbidden or not necessary?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in brackets in the correct formFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: put the rules in the past and the futureFill in the tableUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Speaking: Rules Are Rules

    • Choose the best replyChatTry it
    • Spin the wheel and discussSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework: Rules of the Road

    • Choose the correct option: modals in contextChoose the optionUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: phrases and plain EnglishMemory gameUnlock
    • Write a note for a new colleagueWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record your answer: rules at workSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

21 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Business travel vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • reimburse
  • out of pocket
  • meal allowance
  • pay upfront
  • go over budget
  • keep track of
  • the fine print

Grammar: modals of obligation, prohibition and permission

Company rules come in four kinds: what's necessary, what isn't, what's forbidden and what's allowed. Learners match each kind of rule to its modal, keep must not apart from don't have to, use be supposed to for a rule people often break, and move rules into the past and future with had to and will have to.

Modals of obligation, prohibition and permission

How to say what is necessary, what is forbidden, what is allowed and what is a good idea

Necessary, not necessary, forbidden, allowed

Must and have to say it's necessary, don't have to that it isn't. Must not, can't and not be allowed to forbid; can and be allowed to permit; should advises. Be supposed to marks a rule people often break: You're supposed to take the tram, not a taxi.

MeaningUseExample
It's necessary.must · have to · need toYou must get approval before you book.
It isn't necessary.don't have to · don't need toYou don't have to keep the paper receipt.
It's forbidden.must not · can't · not be allowed toYou must not book outside the portal.
It's allowed.can · be allowed toYou're allowed to book an apartment.
It's a good idea (advice).should · shouldn'tYou should book early: prices go up.
It's the rule, but people often break it.be supposed toYou're supposed to take the tram, not a taxi.

Must not or don't have to?

They look alike but mean very different things. You must not book hotels yourself: it's against the rules. You don't have to print your tickets: it isn't necessary, but you may. A ban needs must not or can't; for something unnecessary, Americans also say don't need to, rarely needn't.

must not or don't have to?

must not: it's forbidden

  • You must not use the company card for personal shopping.
  • You must not book hotels yourself.

don't have to: it isn't necessary

  • You don't have to pay for the hotel: Wrenfield pays.
  • You don't have to keep the paper copy: a photo is enough.

can't or don't have to?

can't means it isn't allowed: You can't claim alcohol at a normal dinner. don't have to means it isn't necessary, but you can if you want: You don't have to print your tickets. Americans rarely say needn't; they say don't need to: You don't need to print them.

Must or have to? Writing and speech

In positive sentences they mean almost the same. Must fits written rules (Staff must upload receipts within 30 days.), while have to reports someone else's rule and is more common in speech. In American English, a spoken ban is usually can't or not allowed to: You can't book it yourself.

  • In the positive, they mean almost the same.
  • must: the speaker's own rule, and written rules and notices: Staff must upload receipts within 30 days.
  • have to: a rule from someone else; more common in speech: I have to upload my receipts by Friday. It's a finance rule.
  • Questions: Do I have to keep the receipts? Can I / Am I allowed to claim laundry? Did you have to pay? Will we have to wait?
  • In American English, must not is mostly for written rules. In speech, people usually say can't or aren't allowed to: You can't book it yourself.

Had to and will have to

Must has no past or future form, so use had to and will have to: At my last job, I had to keep every receipt. If you lose a receipt, you'll have to fill out a form. Allowed to follows suit: was allowed to, will be allowed to.

Past and future

NowPastFuture
must / have tohad towill have to
don't have todidn't have towon't have to
need toneeded towill need to
can / am allowed tocould / was allowed towill be allowed to
can't / am not allowed tocouldn't / wasn't allowed towon't be allowed to

must has no past and no future

For the past, use had to: At my last job, I had to keep every receipt. For the future, use will have to: If you lose a receipt, you'll have to fill out a form.

Typical mistakes: form

  • You must to upload every receipt.

    You must upload every receipt.

    must + base form, without to.

  • You don't must pay for the hotel.

    You don't have to pay for the hotel.

    must has no don't form. For "not necessary", use don't have to.

  • At my last job, I musted keep every receipt.

    At my last job, I had to keep every receipt.

    must has no past form: use had to.

  • We allowed to claim laundry.

    We're allowed to claim laundry.

    Don't forget be: am / is / are allowed to.

Typical mistakes: meaning

  • Minibar drinks aren't covered, so you don't have to claim them.

    Minibar drinks aren't covered, so you can't claim them.

    don't have to = it isn't necessary. For a rule that forbids something, use can't or must not.

  • I have to not book hotels myself.

    I can't book hotels myself.

    For a ban, use can't, must not or I'm not allowed to.

  • Ryan don't have to pay for the apartment.

    Ryan doesn't have to pay for the apartment.

    have to works like a normal verb: he has to, he doesn't have to.

More lessons on this grammar: Modal verbs lessons and exercises

Try the modals of obligation exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 10 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say what's necessary and what isn't: You must upload every receipt. You don't have to keep the paper copy.
  • tell a ban from a choice: You can't claim minibar drinks. You don't have to print your tickets.
  • ask about permission and rules: Am I allowed to rent a bike? Do I have to keep the receipts?
  • explain a company's travel rules to a new colleague, past and future too: If you lose a receipt, you'll have to fill out a form.

Lesson 15, the third lesson of Reports, prices and feedback (unit 4 of Business English B2), turns to a company's rules. It builds on English A2.2 · Curious Minds, where lessons 21 to 24 taught have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to and had to one by one; here they meet in one policy, with be supposed to added. Lesson 16 then looks back with should have and didn't need to. An expenses policy is a list of rules, so most of its lines need a modal.

A box of questions about work trips leads into ten phrase cards with pictures and audio, from sign off on to the fine print, and a matching task. The reading is the company's travel and expenses policy, followed by true-or-false statements and a quiz. In the AI-voiced listening, Priya from finance briefs Ryan before two weeks in Rotterdam and turns down his idea that café visits are market research. Four drills after the scheme check themselves, ending with a table that moves rules into the past and future. In the chat, students play Priya and answer Ryan's expense questions, and a wheel of rules, role-plays and opinions follows.

Homework begins with a ten-item modal drill and a memory game, both self-checking. Students then write a note that explains the travel or expense rules at their company to a new colleague, and record an answer about the rules at work or a past business trip; both are for the teacher to review.

Grammar:
modals of obligation · must not vs don't have to · be allowed to
Topic:
business travel · expenses · company policy

Teaching tips

  • Have in-company groups bring their own policy: they sort its rules into must, must not, don't have to and allowed to, then compare them with the policy in the lesson.
  • Before the listening, predict Priya's answers: give students Ryan's questions about the portal, the apartment, coffee and taxis, and ask them to answer with can, can't or don't have to.
  • Make the contrast personal: each student writes one must not and one don't have to sentence about their own job, and a partner says which one could get them in trouble.
  • One-to-one, play the new colleague: ask the learner Do I have to…? and Am I allowed to…? questions about their company's travel rules before they write the homework note.

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The whole course: Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield

20 lessons at B2 in American English that follow a year at Wrenfield Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, as founder Claire Morgan and her team win a Dutch hotel contract. Learners network, write emails, run meetings, negotiate, handle complaints and present figures, with one grammar point per lesson.See the course

  1. Unit 1 First contacts

    networking, a company story, a business lunch and emails: present tenses, the present perfect, question tags, indirect questions

    1. Lesson 1Making ContactsPresent simple and present continuous at work
    2. Lesson 2Our Story: From Cart to RoasteryPresent perfect and past simple for company history
    3. Lesson 3The Business LunchQuestion tags and short answers
    4. Lesson 4Emails That Get AnswersIndirect questions and polite requests

  2. Unit 2 Meetings and figures

    scheduling, sales figures, running a meeting and negotiating: future forms, trends, gerunds and infinitives, conditionals

    1. Lesson 5Setting Up MeetingsFuture forms for meetings and schedules
    2. Lesson 6The Monthly FiguresDescribing trends
    3. Lesson 7Running a MeetingGerunds and infinitives in meetings
    4. Lesson 8Negotiating a DealFirst and second conditionals in a negotiation

  3. Unit 3 Problems and growth

    a complaint, a late shipment, a launch and hiring: the present perfect continuous, the passive, comparatives, relative clauses

    1. Lesson 9Handling a ComplaintPresent perfect simple vs continuous
    2. Lesson 10The Late ShipmentThe passive in all tenses
    3. Lesson 11Launching a ProductComparatives and superlatives with modifiers
    4. Lesson 12Hiring the Right PersonDefining and non-defining relative clauses

  4. Unit 4 Reports, prices and feedback

    reporting back, explaining prices, expenses and feedback: reported speech, linking words, modals of obligation, past modals

    1. Lesson 13Reporting BackSay vs tell in reported speech
    2. Lesson 14Explaining PricesLinking words of contrast, cause and result
    3. Lesson 15 · you're hereTravel and Expenses: Can I Claim That?Modals of obligation, prohibition and permission
    4. Lesson 16Giving FeedbackShould have, could have and didn't need to

  5. Unit 5 Looking back and ahead

    what went wrong, other cultures, an agency and next year: the third and mixed conditionals, past deduction, the causative, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 17What Went WrongThird and mixed conditionals
    2. Lesson 18Working Across CulturesModals of deduction, present and past
    3. Lesson 19Working with an AgencyCausative have and get
    4. Lesson 20The Road AheadFuture continuous and future perfect

Questions about this lesson

What are modals of obligation?
Modals of obligation are the modal verbs and phrases that say what's necessary, forbidden or allowed: must and have to for necessary, don't have to for not necessary, must not and can't for forbidden, can and be allowed to for allowed, and should for advice. You must get approval before you book. You don't have to keep the paper receipt.
What's the difference between must and have to?
In positive sentences, must and have to mean almost the same, but must suits written rules and your own rules, while have to is more common in speech and for rules made by someone else: Staff must upload receipts within 30 days. I have to upload my receipts by Friday. It's a finance rule. In the negative they split: must not forbids, and don't have to means it isn't necessary.
What's the difference between must not and don't have to?
Must not forbids something; don't have to makes it optional. You must not book hotels yourself means it's against the rules. You don't have to keep the paper copy means it isn't necessary, but you may. So for minibar drinks that aren't covered, say you can't claim them, not you don't have to claim them. A whole drill turns on this choice in the B2 Business English lesson Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? on edio.ai.
What does "be supposed to" mean?
Be supposed to means it's the rule, but people don't always follow it: You're supposed to take the tram, not a taxi. It describes a rule rather than laying one down, and often hints that it gets broken. In writing, keep the -d: supposed to, not suppose to. In the B2 Business English lesson Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? on edio.ai, a finance director uses it about taxis.
How do you talk about obligation in the past and future?
Switch to have to: the past is had to, the future will have to, since must has neither form. At my last job, I had to keep every receipt. If you lose a receipt, you'll have to fill out a form. The negatives are didn't have to and won't have to, and permission works the same way: was allowed to, will be allowed to. I musted doesn't exist.
Is it "must to" or "must"?
It's must + the base verb, with no to: You must upload every receipt, not You must to upload. The to belongs to have to, need to, be allowed to and be supposed to. Two related slips: must has no don't form (You don't have to pay, not You don't must pay), and allowed to needs be: We're allowed to claim laundry.
What is an expense report?
An expense report is a form listing the work costs you want paid back, usually with a receipt for each: taxis, meals, hotels and other costs of a business trip. Company rules for it are full of modals: You must upload a photo of every receipt within 30 days. You don't need to keep the paper copy. Ten picture cards in Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? on edio.ai include this term.
What counts as travel expenses?
Travel expenses are the costs of traveling for work, which employers pay directly or reimburse: transportation, hotels, meals and, under some policies, laundry or local taxis. Each company sets its own limits and exceptions, usually with modals: You can claim food and soft drinks up to the daily limit. Taxis are only allowed when there's no reasonable alternative. This page lets you read one such policy, from Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? on edio.ai.
What does reimburse mean?
To reimburse someone is to pay back money they have spent, as a company does with work costs: Finance reimbursed my taxi fare. The noun is reimbursement. At work, you often pay first and claim the money back; until you're reimbursed, you're out of pocket. A company can reimburse you or reimburse the cost: both are correct.
How do I teach modals of obligation to business English learners?
Start from a real rulebook, such as a travel or expenses policy, and have learners sort its lines into necessary, not necessary, forbidden and allowed. Then let them ask about it (Do I have to…?, Am I allowed to…?) and explain it to a new colleague. The B2 Business English lesson Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? on edio.ai takes learners along this route with a policy, a briefing and a chat.
Are there interactive exercises for modals of obligation?
Yes: gap-fills and chat role-plays that check themselves suit rules and permissions well. On this page, you can try four parts of the B2 Business English lesson Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That? on edio.ai without an account: the expenses policy, Priya's briefing for Ryan, a gap-fill with had to, aren't allowed to and are supposed to, and a chat in which students answer Ryan's expense questions from Rotterdam. Everything else is locked.
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