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Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Must as speculation


Many ESOL textbooks teach using must and have to for necessity

In common speech, however, we often use must when we make a logical guess.

Look how fast his English is improving! He must take English class!
Look how slow the internet is.  There must be a lot of people on it.
Wow!  He has very big arms.  He must lift weights.

In all of these examples, must means I guess from logic, NOT it is necessary.
The grammar must ______(base verb) stays the same

I love the next song to illustrate must because when the singer sees the girl, he makes a logical guess.
She's so pretty that she must have a boyfriend.
When the girl talks, she expresses necessity.  
She  feels it is necessary to have a boyfriend when she goes out.
The chorus uses the same words.


Look around.  What logical guesses can you make from your observations?  Use "must!"

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