deontic use

I think both are deontic. If the first were epistemic it would require Continuous aspect: 'Stevie must be attending the lecture on Gramsci.'

I'm not sure,

Slava

<If the first were epistemic it would require Continuous aspect: '>

Why?

John must use hair dye. He's around 65 years old.

Mary must bite her nails. just look at the state of them.

Sally mu

I just tried to imagine a situation where the sentence could fit in. Say, Steve's friend answers the question 'Where's Steve?'; he knows Steve was going to attend the lecture, so he says 'Stevie must be attending the lecture on Gramsci.'

There is a situation where Indefinite could be used though, I agree. Say Steve kn

<I just tried to imagine a situation where the sentence could fit in. Say, Steve's friend answers the question 'Where's Steve?'; he knows Steve was going to attend the lecture, so he says 'Stevie must be attending the lecture on Gramsci.'>

In that situation, the progressive is fine, but I l

MilkySteve earlier said that he wouldn't attend the Gramsci lectures. Later, his friend finds a paper on Gramsci written by Steve.

In this case there are new options available. If it's years after, Perfect will sound fine. If it's closer to the spell, and the friend doesn't know if the lectures are over, Perfect Continuous would be a good choice. What

<If it's closer to the spell, and the friend doesn't know if the lectures are over, Perfect Continuous would be a good choice. What do you think?>

Why "perfect continuous". Give us an example?

MilkyWhy "perfect continuous". Give us an example?

Say, I'm Stevie's friend. I see his article in a journal. The article reveals Stevie's vast knowledge of the subject discussed, so my reaction could be: 'Wow, Stevie must have been attending those lectures on Gramsci, after all!'

A likewise example is:

<Say, I'm Stevie's friend. I see his article in a journal. The article reveals Stevie's vast knowledge of the subject discussed, so my reaction could be: 'Wow, Stevie must have been attending those lectures on Gramsci, after all!'>

That's fine, as the article marks an achievement.

Still, we have to deal with the original too.

As for epistemic meanings, I think most situations are covered with definite aspects (Perfect, Continuous or both), though sometimes Indefinite sounds unambiguous. Contexts decide. All in all, a definite aspect is a reliable marker, considering that students rarely go that high as to distinguish such subtleties. My students are Russian.

Regards,

Slava