I study translating and interpreting. In one of our language lessons
my teacher read a sentence from the (American) magazine ‘Time’:
'The blaze......had to have been very strong…' and said that
was incorrect as it should have been must have been' instead.
However, all the Americans I know told me this construction sounded
perfectly natural to them.
It
is the case that the grammar of American English at times is slightly
different from the grammar of British English, but where there are
differences, most grammar reference books point out any alternative
versions. For example, they might list examples of some of the past
tense differences as follows:
British
English
American
English
He
woke her with a kiss.
He
waked her with a kiss.
They
dived into the water.
They
dove into the water.
I
quitted the job after five days.
I
quit the job after five days.
He
burnt all her letters.
He
burned all her letters.
The
priest wetted the baby’s head.
The
priest wet the baby’s head.
The
cellar smelt of rotting apples.
The cellar smelled of rotting apples.
However,
I have checked with all the grammar reference books that I have
to hand and in none of them is had to have been listed as
an alternative to must have been. It may have been used for
emphasis.
Usually,
had to indicates the past tense form of must when
must = obligation. Study the following:
'³Û´Ç³Ü’ll have to get up at five o’ clock if you want
to be in Birmingham by seven.'
'I must remember to renew my car insurance at the end
of the month.'
'You ³¾³Ü²õ³Ù²Ô’t park your car on the double yellow lines
on the roads in Britain.'
'She had to pay a fine of £60 when she was caught speeding
on the motorway.'
Note
that if we use ·É´Ç²Ô’t/don’t/didn’t have to as the negative of
must, then we are expressing the absence of obligation or necessity
and in this respect it is similar in use to ²Ô±ð±ð»å²Ô’t or don’t/didn’t
need to. Compare the following:
'You ·É´Ç²Ô’t ever have to wear braces around your
teeth again.' ( You ²Ô±ð±ð»å²Ô’t ever wear braces around your teeth
again.)
'You don’t have to come, if you don’t want to.' (You
don’t need to come.)
'I didn’t have to attend the January meeting, so I went
to see Jane instead.' (I didn’t need to attend the January meeting,
so I went to see Jane instead.)
'The following month, I had to present a paper, so my
attendance was essential.
must
as deduction
This
usage of must is quite different. As in the Time article,
we are registering that we are not absolutely sure about something,
but are guessing or assuming that it has happened, will happen or
is the case. In this sense, must have is the past tense form of
must. Study the following:
'It must beat least five weeks since we last
met.'
'You must be Helen. My mother has told me so much about
you.'
'We must have taken the wrong turning. We should be
there by now.'
'They must have missed their train. Otherwise they would
be here by now.'
Note
that the negative of must be or must have is ³¦²¹²Ô’t
be or ³¦²¹²Ô’t/couldn’t have been.
Here,
again, we are making an assumption about something. Study the following:
'She ³¦²¹²Ô’t be very happy with her husband away on that
oil rig all the time.'
'It ³¦²¹²Ô’t be lunch time already. That clock must be
wrong.'
'It couldn’t have been Charlie who answered the phone
because he’s in hospital.'
'I ³¦²¹²Ô’t findFifi anywhere. She ³¦²¹²Ô’t have got
out through the window. The opening is too small.
