moest

In a sentence

• Ik moest mijn huiswerk maken voor de les.

  I had to do my homework before the class.

  This uses 'moest' as the past tense of 'must' (moeten) to indicate an obligation in the past.

• Hij moest lachen toen hij de grap hoorde.

  He had to laugh when he heard the joke.

  Here, 'moest' introduces an unavoidable reaction in the past, implying that he found the joke genuinely funny.

• We moesten vroeg vertrekken om de bus te halen.

  We had to leave early to catch the bus.

  In this context, 'moest' indicates a necessity dictated by circumstances (e.g., bus schedule).