Meaning of "have to"

Question

?1.She has to believe you're sincere.2.She has to have felt that you lied.3.She has to know that you lied.Q1) Are all the above sentences natural and grammatical?Q2) In the above sentences, do "has to believe/to have felt/to know" imply that she is certain that you're sincere/you lied?Q3) Can the first and third sentence imply "It is necessary for her to to believe that you're sincere" and "It is necessary for her to know that you lied" ?Q4) If Q2 and Q3 are correct, do the first and third sentences sound ambiguous, and for the reason, 1 and 3 could mean different according to context?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

fire1
1.She has to believe you're sincere.
2.She has to have felt that you lied.
3.She has to know that you lied.

You have two different kinds of sentence here. 1 and 3 use the present infinitive, which indicates present or future time. 2 uses the perfect infinitive, which indicates past time.

In the general case the semi-modal "have to" (like "must" and other modal verbs) can be epistemic (related to logic) or deontic (related to interpersonal relationships).

The epistemic interpretation is that the speaker draws a logical conclusion. The conclusion may be about present time or about past time.

The deontic interpretation is that the speaker imposes a requirement on someone. You can't impose a requirement on someone to do something in the past. It's too late. So past time doesn't enter into this interpretation. It can only be present.

With these categories in mind, these are the possible interpretations of your sentences:

1. She has to believe you're sincere.
Epistemic: The only logical conclusion is that she believes you are sincere.
Deontic: It is a requirement for her to believe you are sincere. (This implies that something must be done to ensure that she believes that you are sincere.)

2. She has to have felt that you lied.

Epistemic: The only logical conclusion is that she felt that you lied.
Deontic: Impossible. You can't require that she had a certain opinion in the past.

3. She has to know that you lied.

Epistemic: The only logical conclusion is that she knows that you lied.
Deontic: It is a requirement for her to know that you lied. (This implies that something must be done to ensure that she knows that you lied. The obvious action that can accomplish this is to tell her.)

CJ

Meaning of "have to"

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