Use of "had to + verb" in a sentence?

Asked by lessonenglish (278

) February 9th, 2011

I am asking the question that If I want to make a sentence, the case here is,
There is a website on which there is a check box to select an option. Suppose people have to go to the next page then they have to click up on that check box. So, they can navigate to the next page.
So in present tense i will write it as,
People have to click on the check box to move to the next page.
Now the case is changed. I mean there is no check box now to select an option.
Now, if i want to explain the functionality as it was before then how can I make a sentence?
Is the following sentence right?
The functionality was like, People had to select an option to move to the next page.
The original things don’t persist now and I want to tell people how they were before then how can I make the sentence in this case?
Can anyone make the sentence which I have written above in present tense in past ? or whatever I have made using “had to” is correct?

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3 Answers

Is it necessary (say, as part of a lesson) to use “to have to” in the sentence? Because it’s not usually the preferred way.

You can say:
Users are (or “were” for past tense) required to click the box to move to the next page.
Click (or “clicked” for past tense) the box to move to the next page.
To move to the next page, you must click the box. (In past tense: “You clicked the box to move to the next page.”)

But your sample sentences were okay:
People have to click on the option check box to move to the next page.
People had to click on the option check box to move to the next page.

WasCy (10112

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@WasCy : Is this also OK.

People used to have to select an option to move to the next page.

lessonenglish (278

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That’s only okay if selecting an option is no longer a requirement to move to the next page. That is, if people can now move to the next page without selecting an option, then there’s no “used to” about it; it’s still an active requirement.

WasCy (10112

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