The best known negative
clauses with shall are the ten commandments of the bible.
The 10 commandments
I You shall
have no other gods but me.
II You shall
not make unto you any graven images.
III You shall
not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain.
IV You shall
remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
V You shall
honour your mother and father.
VI You shall
not murder.
VII You shall
not commit adultery.
VIII You shall
not steal.
IX You shall
not bear false witness.
X You shall
not covet anything that belongs to your
neighbour.
It is quite clear somebody who has the power to do
so demands something. When substituting shall with must
the meaning is not altered but rather emphasised.
shall substituted
with must
I You
must have
no other gods but me.
II You must
not make unto you any graven images.
III You must
not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain.
IV You must
remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
V You must
honour your mother and father.
VI You must
not murder.
VII You must
not commit adultery.
VIII You must
not steal.
IX You must
not bear false witness.
X You must
not covet anything that belongs to your
neighbour.
The meaning changes drastically when substituting shall
/ must with to have to.
shall substituted
with have to
I You
have to
have no other gods but me.
II You do
not have to make unto you any graven
images.
III You do
not have to take
the name of the Lord your God in vain.
IV You have
to remember the Sabbath and keep
it Holy.
V You have
to honour your mother and father.
VI You do
not have to
murder.
VII You do
not have to commit
adultery.
VIII You do
not have to steal.
IX You do
not have to bear
false witness.
X You do
not have to covet
anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Suddenly we have all the freedom in the world, which
is the not-intended result of a linguistic experiment.
However, every single one thinks about the wide possibilities
given this way of thinking the author rather turns back
to Spanish than to the philosophic implications of language
technicalities.
Point here shall be that in also Spanish negative clauses
deber (shall)
can't be substituted with tener
que (to have to). Since there is no other word
than tener que for must
the question about this is rather obsolete.
The ten commandmends can be found in Spanish in three different
versions
Using the
future
No tendrás
dioses ajenos delante de mí.
= You will not have other gods but me. No tomarás
el nombre de Jehová tu Dios en vano.
= You will not take the name of the Lord
your God in vain. Honra a tu
padre y a tu madre.
= You will honour your mother and father. No cometerás
adulterio.
= You will not commit adultery No hurtarás.
= You will not steal. No hablarás
contra tu prójimo falso testimonio.
= You will not bear false witness.
Using the
imperative
No mates.
= Do not murder. No cometas adulterio.
= Do not commit adultery. No robes.
= Do not steal. Honra a tu padre
y a tu madre. = Honour your father
and mother.
With deber
No debes matar.
= You shall not murder. No debes cometer
adulterio. = You shall not commit
adultery. No debes levantar
falso Testimonio. = You shall not
bear false witness.
Even though the translation into English in future-form
and imperative is possible and sounds plausible, it would
probably mostly be translated with shall.
We have the same picture in the Spanish logic. The
verb deber can't be substituted with tener que because
the meaning would be altered.
Example
No debes fumar tanto.
= you should not smoke so much.
No tienes que fumar tanto. = You do not
have to smoke so much.
Example
Yo pienso que no
debes ser tan avaricioso. = You shouldn't
be so mean.
Yo pienso que no tienes que ser tan avaricioso
(,para ahorrar dinero). = You do not
have to be so mean.
Example
No debes ser tan
curioso. = You shouldn't
be so curious.
No tienes que ser tan curioso(,para saber
lo que pasó). = You do not
have to be so curious.
El ensayo no tiene
que ser tan corto que parezca una meditación,
ni tan largo que se asemeje a un tratado.
= The essay doesn't have to be so short
that it is similar to a meditation, but
also not that long that it seems to be a
contract.
El ensayo no debe ser tan corto que parezca
una meditación, ni tan largo que
se asemeje a un tratado. = The essay
should not be so be so short that it is
similar to a meditation, but also not that
long that it seems to be a contract.
Un hombre no debe llorar
= A man shall not cry. (meaning:
It's not good if he does.)
Un hombre no tiene que llorar =A man doesn't
have to cry. (meaning:
There is no one demanding it or setting
an obligation to do so).
