Timeline for Another one on the past tense of must have
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2022 at 17:18 | vote | accept | Petr Skocik | ||
| Aug 22, 2022 at 16:03 | comment | added | John Lawler | Modals have no tense. Must have refers to a judgment of likelihood, not necessarily a tense. Don't worry about tenses; much of what is taught to non-native speakers about tenses is nonsense. Look for constructions instead. | |
| Aug 22, 2022 at 14:38 | comment | added | fev | Yes, it can. It is if you say, I have probably told him at least five times before he actually did it. Must + present perfect (not just have) refers to the past. Present would have been, I must tell him at least five times before he actually does it. | |
| Aug 22, 2022 at 14:14 | comment | added | Petr Skocik | Thanks. Isn't "must have" essentially a present-tense form, though? Can "must have told him" really be followed by "before he actually did it"? | |
| Aug 22, 2022 at 14:09 | history | edited | fev | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 14 characters in body
|
| Aug 22, 2022 at 14:04 | history | edited | Andrew Leach♦ | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Source MUST be given in plain text
|
| Aug 22, 2022 at 13:57 | history | answered | fev | CC BY-SA 4.0 |