must
1.must没有过去式,但也往往指过去的事,下面几点该注意:
(1)说过去的事通常不用must而用had to...(不定式),如不说Yesterday morning I must call on a friend,该把must改作had to。
(2)但在间接引语里往往用must。例如:Yesterday morning I told my father that I must call on a friend at once.
(3)在虽然没有间接引语的形式而却有间接引语的意味的时候,也往往用must。例如:Yesterday morning I considered how I should spend the day. First, I must call on a friend. 这里的I must含有I thought I must的意思。
(4)在从属分句里有时用must。例如:There was a friend whom I must call on immediately.
(5)must往往被用来表示“偏偏…”的意思。例如:As I was sitting down to supper, the telephone must ring.(当我正在坐下来吃晚餐的时候,电话机偏偏响起来了。)
2.注意下面三句意思不同:
- You must not go.(你一定不可去。)
- You need not go.(你不必去。有“我允许你不去”的含意。)
- You may not go.(参见may 1)
注意下面三句意思不同:
- It cannot be true.(这个决不是真的。)
- It need not be true.(这个不一定是真的。)
- It may not be true.(这个也许不是真的。)
- It must not be true是不成立的。
3.must have...(过去分词)有三种意思:(1)“谅必曾经…”,(2)“谅必曾经…(实际不曾)”和(3)“必须曾经…”。例如:
You must have seen him yesterday.(你谅必曾经在昨天看见他。)
You must have seen him if you had been here yesterday.(假使你昨天在这里,你谅必曾经看见他。[事实上你昨天并不在这里,所以不曾看见他。])
Any applicant for this position must have practised for five years.
(这个职位的任何申请人必须曾经实习过五年。)
4.must在现代英语里用作名词作“不可缺少的东西”解。例如:A TV set is a must in a modern home. (电视机在现代家庭里是一样少不了的东西。)