Talk:must

I've noticed some authors using must as though it is a simple past verb. For example in The Left Hand of Darkness, but elsewhere too. Theshibboleth 02:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

=Usage Note= Could we add a usage note on the seemingly superfluous, but formerly common "must needs"? JodianWarrior 01 March 2015
 * We probably should do that for needs must, as must stands in for it must be done in that phrase. I'm not sure we need it for must needs though. --Overlordnat1 (talk) 08:43, 22 April 2023 (UTC)

=some errors=

"Must cannot be used to indicate neither logical certainty, nor obligation in the past." For a start that's a double negative: "Not neither A nor B" is wrong, "Is neither A nor B" or "Not either A or B" are both ok. Secondly, it claims that must can't indicate logical certainty (or, can't in the past: the sentence is unclear). Thsi seems false, since : "I picked one of two options, and it wasn't the first. It must have been the second."

So I changed that line.

"(law) Always a directive when used together with apply(application): No one can make you apply for anything." Doesn't say what or who's law, and seems false anyway: "You must apply for a visa before entering the country", "you must apply existing law in this situation" both sound like imperatives to me. I assume by "make" the author meant "punish you if you do not". But in the UK at least a dog, TV, gun etc owner who has failed to apply for a relevant license will be fined. If they have applied for, but do not hold the license, they may not be; therefore it is the act of applying that is a "must".

"(Have two sense: imperative or directive)" Poor grammar. The whole section wasn't terribly clear: munged and expanded.DewiMorgan 13:48, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Must not vs mustn't
Is there any nuance of meaning the usage note should state about must not vs mustn't? --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:40, 21 February 2020 (UTC)

intr (Archaic) To be required or obliged to go
"I must from hence" (Shakespeare). --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:12, 28 July 2020 (UTC)

The past tense of “must” is also “must”.
Is that true also of the negative must not / mustn't? --Backinstadiums (talk) 19:37, 14 September 2020 (UTC)

should have
Should have is the direct past tense of should. However, must/might/could have show probability. Thus, to show the past tense of must for obligation/advice, we have to either use had to or should have. Must have means that the only possible explanation is that it happened. Might/could have means that it is possible that it happened. Obligation	Present: You must finish your essay by Friday. Past:	You should have finished your essay by Friday. Probability	Present: He must be telling the truth. (The only possible explanation is that he is telling the truth.) Past:	He must have been telling the truth. (The only possible explanation is that he was telling the truth.) Source --Backinstadiums (talk) 23:40, 14 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Obligation can also be reported with had to and would have to, The doctor said I must / had to / would have to stop smoking --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:19, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

American usage
I heard an American-born woman (on Youtube) describing for German audiences that Americans view "must" as impolite, strictly ordering und unusual in daily life. Universal-Interessierter (talk) 15:46, 11 March 2024 (UTC)