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I think these following sentences are equivalent in terms of meaning.

I'd like to ask if there is subtle difference in terms of meaning?

Which one is more common?Can we say one or other is more formal?

You are smiling in all your photos.Your trip has to have been fun.

You are smiling in all your photos.Your trip must have been fun.

And how about this sentence.Is it used/said when we talk about a trip went on many years ago?

You are smiling in all your photos. Your trip had to have been fun.

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4 Answers 4

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In my opinion, "has to have been fun" connotes some suspected or possible disagreement, while "must have been fun" assumes agreement.

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Has to have been means the same thing, but must have been is orders of magnitude more common.

Source: Google Ngram Viewer

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    While this is clearly correct and I agree, somehow when I read the two sentences, "has to have been" gives an overtone of a stronger emphasis, and possibly an argumentative one. On reading the sentence, I feel that the vacationer was claiming otherwise, and the speaker is now arguing in favor of the fun vacation. Maybe this is because "must have been" feels more natural, so the less common phrase feels like emphasis?
    – NadjaCS
    Oct 9, 2015 at 22:02
  • I see your point, Nadja. But I think depending on the tone and the logical emphasis one can easily stress "must" to convey an argumentative emphasis as well, if one so wishes. To me the semantic difference between the two seems therefore negligible, if any.
    – A.P.
    Oct 9, 2015 at 22:17
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With no reference to back it up, I would suggest that "had to have been fun", especially with emphasis on "had" is a good deal more emphatic than "must have been fun".

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IMO: "That had to have been fun" connotes an almost complete lack of doubt about the nature of the experience. It could also connote envy, but emphasis would be placed on "had," which, the more it fluctuates in intonation, cements the vicarious "knowledge" of the speaker of the special amount of fun the speaker intentions.
"That must have been fun" could be a confirmation or acknowledgement of a likely fact and thus a polite/diplomatic remark or have a sense "up to" "had to have been fun," which is, again, dependent on emphasis on "must." Nevertheless, should emphasis be placed on "must" and then extra on "fun," and "fun" fluctuates in intonation, I think it can mean the same thing as the other. But this is if these statements are not made disingenuously, i.e., sarcastically/with flat intonation, which is the only way I can see either being made "argumentatively."

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