4.6.

MUST
4.6.1. EPISTEMIC MUST The epistemic sense of must ranks high on the probability scale and occurs in utterances that have been described as necessary statements, logical conclusions, inferences, deductions: They must have used their passkeys to get in. I feel terrible; I must have caught a cold or something. What may be underlined as obvious is the speakers strong belief, conviction or near certainty concerning the truth-value of the proposition. In fact such sentences can be rephrased as Im pretty sure/certain that they used The speaker bases his assertion on his knowledge or on evidence immediately available to him from his observation of the relevant real situations. Palmer proposes as a rough paraphrase for this use the only possible conclusion is, while Leech suggests that epistemic must is used to indicate knowledge arrived at by inference or reasoning rather than by direct experience. But, even if must is said to represent the strongest epistemic judgement one can make, it should, however, be underlined that the strongest of all judgement is not the same as a factual assertion. Must occurs chiefly as a present, since epistemic modalities are oriented to speaker now; it may appear with past time reference, usually in sub-clauses, only if the timesphere of the inference is simultaneous with that of the past state of affairs referred to in the utterance: Than she became aware that the man must be their new neighbour. Even when followed by a perfect infinitive, must is still a present, indicating the conclusions arrived at by the speaker at the time of speaking. She surely must have arrived by this time. For future time reference be bound to is preferred. Must may occur in unreal conditional sentences indicating what, in the speakers opinion, would be a near certainty or inevitable if a past, present or future event did or did not come about, or would have been inevitable if such an event had or had not come about. If one did not make all efforts to come to an understanding, things must come to a deadlock. (Dac nu s-ar face, lucrurile ar intra) If the pistol had been loaded, the child must inevitably have shot himself. (Dac pistolul ar fi fost , copilul s-ar fi mpucat). *Notice that the notion of conviction or high probability implied by must is sometimes strengthened by an accompanying needs, of necessity, inevitably, etc. Notice also that in most cases, corresponding to the epistemic use of must, Romanian uses the present (and sometimes in past contexts, the imperfect) of epistemic a trebui. In some cases it is attended

by reinforcing adverbs such as: desigur, cu siguran, negreit, neaprat, inevitabil.

Syntactic behaviour a) negation Epistemic must is negated by cant, which is the more natural expression of impossibility in English: If he saw a woman cook, it cant have been her. Mustnt can occur in those cases which Palmer calls verbal crossing out: He must be there. Oh no, he mustnt. b) interrogation Epistemic must does not usually occur in interrogative contexts; nevertheless, Palmer offers examples such as: Must they be on holiday? Substitutes for Must 1. BE BOUND TO As already stated, be bound to is usually used for future time reference. When must occurs with a future TR, it almost always is interpreted in a deontic, not epistemic sense: The government must act. It must make up its mind about priorities: offices or homes, housing estates or luxury buildings. This restriction does not function for be bound to. We could say: The odds are bound to be with them in these tight situations. There is a difference in meaning between be bound to and must. Consider the examples: Johns bound to be in his office. John must be in the/his office. The first sentence is the more certain of the two; it has little or no sense of conclusion. The speaker wants to assert as positively as he can that this is the only possibility. In the second sentence, the speaker is drawing the most obvious conclusion. It may be a remark made in response to a comment that the lights were on in Johns office. The nearest synonym of be bound to in sentences with a future TR is it is inevitable: If the Government deals with the situation realistically, the cost of the EU integration is bound to be great. As to this difference, Palmer points out that the concept of conclusivity is more appropriate to the present (must) and that of inevitability to the future. 2. HAVE GOT TO Sometimes it occurs in an epistemic interpretation as in: If hes your friend, youve got to know all his jokes. This interpretation of have got to is quite common in American English: Youve got to be joking, the more likely British English form being You must be joking.

3. HAVE TO In British English there appears to be a difference of context of use between have to and must. Contrast: You must be mad to do that. (epistemic interpretation, i.e. the conclusion from your action is that you are mad). You have to be mad to do that. (being mad is a necessary condition for acting in a certain way => so, the deontic use of have to isnt far away). Have (got) to has a stronger force than must and cannot be weakened to the interpretation of logical assumption. Someone must be telling lies voices mere suspicion. Someone has (got) to be telling lies sounds more like an accusation. 4.6.2. DEONTIC MUST If must is used in a context relative to the system of social laws and the circumstances materialize in a person in a position of authority, must is interpreted as indicating obligation or compulsion. Two roles are important in the deontic use of must: the imposer/ originator and the goal/receiver of the constraint or obligation. The former is the logical subject of must, the latter is usually its surface subject. The constraint imposed upon the subject may originate from various sources such as: o the will of the speaker or some other authority, o the subjects own will or keen desire, o laws, regulations, circumstances, o a power beyond the subjects control. In many cases the source of the constraint is not specified. In sentences such as All man must die. What must be, must be, it is hard to distinguish between the epistemic and the deontic uses. Deontic must is used performatively when the speaker himself as authority imposes the obligation as in: If you come in after midnight you must come in quietly. Dont wake me up. The speaker may also use must to report/state the existence of an obligation imposed by an external authority, to which he may or may not add his support/approval: You must go now; the visiting hour is over and the head nurse is very strict about it. A sentence with a 1st person subject, such as I must be leaving/leave now, is analysable in at least two ways: I must be leaving since I have a meeting to attend (the subject is under the pressure of an external agent which reduces his freedom to act); I must be leaving because this is what I want to do/Im bored stiff with your company (the subjects will/desire is so strong as to make him view the actualization of the predication as necessary). Here are some further examples of keen desire or internal compulsion overmastering the subject: Her secret smile made me feel that I must meet her. You must always interfere, mustnt you? If you must smoke, use an ashtray.

The subjects obligation/constraint may derive from other sources of authority such as: o a power beyond the subjects control (rules, regulations, a code of honour): Women must cover their heads in church. o the natural/inevitable consequence of a certain event: You made your bed and you must lie upon it. o the necessity that a condition be fulfilled in order that a certain state of affairs may be possible: You must work hard if you want to be an A student. o a strong moral obligation or an urgent advisability : What I have promised I must do. You must quit smoking if you want to live. Like epistemic must, deontic must is chiefly used in the present. It may also occur with a past tense value mostly in sub-clauses when the time sphere is past: And the day came when she and her children must leave their home. Deontic must+perfect infinitive cannot be used to describe an event that has actually occurred; have to or one of the other approximately equivalent phrases are used instead: I was told that he had to/ had been obliged to hand in his resignation. In the following e.g., however, must+perfect infinitive is used in a deontic sense (must expresses a present requirement, the perfect infinitive being a past time indicator of the state of affairs described in the proposition): Applicants for this position must have studied a minimum of two years in a university. Substitutes for MUST 1) HAVE TO The two are not exact semantic equivalents. Unlike must, have to always indicates that it is not the speaker that requires the actualization of predication, but some external authority or circumstances. Some of the deontic functions of must are shared by have to, which may represent a person under the constraint of: a task or official duty: A President has to devote all his time and energy to his country. a power beyond the subjects control (a law of nature, an overmastering emotion): I saw she had to bite her lips not to burst into tears. the necessity of a condition to be fulfilled: If you want to be there in time, youll have to leave early. According to many grammarians, have to is more common and preferable for habitual activities and must for important and urgent obligations: I have to feed the baby six times a day. I must feed the baby now; its been crying for half an hour. *The alternative from have got to is even more common in American English, frequently reduced to gotta both in speech and writing. Syntactic behaviour

a) Past time reference Must + Perfect Infinitive for the epistemic use. Had to for the deontic use. b) Speech acts (other than statements, questions or negations of obligations) expression of disapproval/reproach: Must you drink so much? Do you have to smoke those stinking cigars? Dont you have to write some letters? casual invitations, excuses: You must come and see me one of these days. I must be leaving now. suggestions, recommendations, emphatic advice (=should): You must see this movie; its the best Ive seen in years. reprimands, orders: You mustnt speak like this to you mother.

MUST/vs/MAY
1) Both modals can express presupposition, but they differ through the opposed connotations they bring to this concept: may also suggests uncertainty, whereas must suggests certain probability: She usually keeps late hours: she may still be at her work. She never goes to bed before midnight because she has a lot of work to get through; so, she must still be at it now, its only eleven. 2) Both may (rarely, and most of the times replaced by can) and must can express interdiction, mainly in negative answers to may questions: Please, Doc! My hand is practically healed. May I go skiing? No, you cant (mustnt). Its much too risky.

MUST/vs/HAVE TO
Since must is defective, it refers only to present or general time and, possibly, to the future. Where specific reference has to be made to other times or aspects, must is supplemented by have to. The have to forms often suggest that the obligation is habitual or arises from some external source, circumstances: You must pay for yourself tonight. What do you mean, tonight? I always have to pay for myself. She said that I had to be at work early in the morning to have the paper finished. (cf.) You must stay the night (I press you to do so)/vs/You have to stay the night (You cant get back tonight). In the 1st person, the difference between internal (must) and external obligation (have to) is much attenuated and they very often

can be used interchangeably. Nevertheless, must is recommended for an extremely important or urgent obligation, while have to should be used for a habitual/regular action: I must be at the airport in half an hour to catch the 6:30 plane. I have to take the pills twice a day. Since must can also be used in sentences where the TR is future, mention should be made of the fact that shall/will have to can imply annoyance with the necessity or obligation of the action they express: We shall have to do it ourselves since no one is here to help. They will have to listen to him unless they want him to take their firm to court. SHALL/WILL HAVE TO are very common: - where words like probably/perhaps are used to refer to future time: Ill probably have to get it done by next week. Perhaps well have to study in the library to find all the books on the reference list. - when future habitual obligation is expressed: When I start work, Ill have to get up early to catch the morning train. - when annoyance/reluctance/unpleasant necessity is indicated: Since nobody cared to buy some sugar, Ill have to drink my tea with no sugar in it. All I wanted was to go to the disco tonight, but for all I see, Ill have to stay at home and wait for your call. Absence of (external/habitual) obligation in the present, future and past can be expressed by neednt/dont/doesnt need to, shall/will not have /need to, didnt have/need to, to show that an action which was/is thought to be necessary became/becomes unnecessary and so, presumably, did/does/will not occur: I didnt have/need to write her a letter; I simply e-mailed the invitation. She neednt be/doesnt need/have to be so defensive; no one here accuses her of anything. For all I know, you wont need/have to pay for anything; everything has been taken care of. *neednt + perf. infinitive is used exclusively to refer to something which took place in the past although unnecessarily. **must usually remains must after reporting verbs in the past when it expresses permanent rules/prohibition or logical deduction: She said she must observe the internal regulations, otherwise she would be fired (cf. She said she had to do it no matter what reporting I must do it no matter what).The captain said all the passengers must stay on deck. MUST/vs/OUGHT TO must expresses imperative obligation or logical necessity, whereas ought to indicates moral obligation derived from a sense of duty or conscience, desirability, or logical but not certain conclusion: You must organize work so as not to let machinery run idle. It is late and I ought to go home (but maybe I wont).

For the conditional mood, ought to and should are usually used, followed by the present/perfect infinitive: You ought to/should talk to her. He ought to/should have listened to me. OTHER ALTERNATE CONSTRUCTIONS

* MUST = be (bound) to, be essential/necessary for somebody to, be obligatory to, be obliged to, be required to, be compelled to ** MUST NOT = be not to, not be allowed to, be forbidden to *** The concept of obligation can also be expressed with shall (in the 2nd and 3rd persons), chiefly in regulations or legal documents, ought to/should (as mentioned above). **** The concept of prohibition can also be expressed with shall not (in the 2nd and 3rd persons), may not (usually in official notices), cannot (not allowed/permitted to), should not/ought not to (advice and disapproval), the imperative mood, NO ING! (brief announcements).

MUST - ROUNDUP
It expresses the following functions: 1. (objective/subjective) necessity, duty, absolute obligation (either imposed by the speaker especially after the verbs admit, conclude, realise, remember, say, understand - or deriving from external authority rules/regulation orders, interdictions, official prohibitions): You must keep your promise. We all must die. Im afraid I must mortgage the house. I mustnt leave before I say goodbye to all people present. Must you always treat everybody like dirt? I must say that we have not identified all the consequences. You must admit we cannot ignore these arguments. You must call for a doctor; shes been seriously injured. He must never treat us like that; we wont put up with such a behavior. You simply must not wear that shabby coat again; its embarrassing. In Australia traffic must keep to the left. Lights must be on before dark. These books must not be taken away from the reading room. *Absence of obligation/necessity is expressed by need not or dont/doesnt need to: you mustnt do that again, but you neednt be so upset about it. We do not need to go over that again and again; everybody has understood. I must go now! Need you really? Yes, I must or Ill be late for my date. **In questions must and need are often similar in meaning, but need cannot be used after question words; when using need the speaker hopes for a negative answer: What must she do if she wants to make some progress? Need I tell you that this is not the best of solutions? 2. probability, supposition, logical conclusion/deduction: They arent home; they must be on holiday. He returned too soon; he must have had a terrible time. *In the negative, cant/cannot is used: She must be there; she cant be anywhere else. He must have accepted; he cant have rejected such a terrific opportunity; it wouldve been sheer madness. 3. other speech acts: emphatic invitation or advice, reproach: You simply must see him in this performance. You mustnt miss the show tonight; Ive seen it twice already. Must you talk so much?

EXERCISES MEANINGS AND USES OF MUST

I. Write 3 regulations (past, present and future). II. Make 2 sentences to express deduction (past or present). III. Make 2 sentences to underline the difference between DIDNT NEED TO and NEEDNT HAVE + -EN. IV. Make 6 sentences to express future necessity/habitual future obligation/unpleasant necessity with SHALL/WILL HAVE TO. (Keep in mind that the subjects obligation may also derive from the necessity to fulfill a condition which will make the event possible). V. Ask questions to the words or phrases italicized; use MUST or NEED (remember to avoid question words + NEED, and that with NEED you expect a negative answer, it being used where there is a strong element of negation or doubt: e.g. Need she come tomorrow? hoping for a negative answer; Must she come tomorrow? open question): She must arrive at the airport before 8:30. You must work if you want to make progress. He must fly if he doesnt want to be late for his first date. You mustnt do everything by yourself; share the responsibilities. Lucy is going to telephone. Jim is expecting her. (yes/no question) VI. Fill in the blanks with must, need or have to: I put my fur coat on? No, you , if it isnt too cold for you. You shout. I can hear you all right. I meet them at the station? Yes, you ; they dont know how to get here. I finish the experiments now? Yes, you ; I the results this very afternoon. You will cook your own meals when you move to Bucharest, but youwash the linen yourself, you can take it to the laundry. You light your cigarette in a petrol station. VII. Translate and comment on the meaning: Anul acesta am ore dimineata; in fiecare zi trebuie sa fiu la facultate la ora 11:30. Trebuie sa semnam actele maine dimineata si, apoi, sa participam la conferinta de presa. Trebuie ca a fost foarte suparat de faptul ca nu ai fost suficient de rezonabil in luarea deciziei. Trebuie sa plec imediat daca vreau sa ii ajung din urma. Va trebui sa-l determin sa isi ia pastilele la timp daca vrea sa se faca bine. Crezi ca va trebui sa merg si eu cu tine? Trebuie sa-ti marturisesc ca nu-mi face nici o placere. Mai este nevoie sa-ti spun ca nu ai voie sa pleci daca nu iti reinnoiesti pasaportul? Ar trebui sa-ti vezi de treburile tale daca nu vrei sa fii ocolit de toata lumea. Nu era nevoie sa cheltuiesti atat de mult pe haine; ai un dulap plin. N-a fost nevoie sa ii traduc ce se vorbeste; spre surprinderea mea, vorbea romana foarte bine. Mark poate sa vina in orice moment; ar fi trebuit sa fie

acasa deja. Copiii sub saisprezece ani nu pot participa la aceste curse de masini. Pasagerii zborului 203 se vor prezenta la punctul de control imediat dupa aterizare. Probabil ca se simte bine cu vechii ei prieteni daca nu simte nevoia sa-si faca altii noi. Nu se poate sa se intoarca azi daca s-a oprit in Sibiu. De ce a trebuit sa va duceti acolo? Stiati ca nu era nevoie ba, mai mult, nu aveati voie s-o faceti. A spus ca a facut ce trebuia sa faca. Va trebui sa astepti aici pana se intoarce secretara; cineva trebuie sa raspunda la telefon.