Must have/Must have been

Question

A. You said I didn't pick up the phone. I must have been taking shower then. Otherwise, I would have picked up the phone.
B. When I met Jack, he looked angry with me. You must have told him the truth. I told you not to tell him the truth.
C. When I saw you yesterday, you looked exhausted. You must have been working hard.
D. I haven't seen him for three hours. He must have been driving for two hours. The sentence could mean he is still driving and also he is not driving now,right?

Are the sentences correct with 'must have/have been'? Thanks a lot.?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

tenjingA. You said I didn't pick up the phone. I must have been taking shower then. Otherwise, I would have picked up the phone.

A. You said I didn't pick up the phone. I must have been taking a shower then. Otherwise, I would have picked up the phone.

(B and C are fine.)

D. I haven't seen him for three hours. He must have been driving for two hours. The sentence could mean he is still driving and also he is not driving now,right?

We cannot tell if his trip is complete or not. There is not enough evidence in the context.

Tenjing · Answer

Although the last sentence with 'must have been' doesn't say whether he is driving now, the sentence is grammatically correct,  right?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

tenjingthe sentence is grammatically correct, right?

Yes.

CalifJim · Answer

must ~ the only reasonable conclusion is that ...

tenjingA. You said I didn't pick up the phone. I must have been taking shower then. Otherwise, I would have picked up the phone.

The only reasonable conclusion is that I was taking a shower then. (Correct.)

tenjingB. When I met Jack, he looked angry with me. You must have told him the truth. I told you not to tell him the truth.

The only reasonable conclusion is that you told him the truth. (Correct.)

tenjingC. When I saw you yesterday, you looked exhausted. You must have been working hard.

The only reasonable conclusion is that you were working hard. (Correct.)

tenjingD. I haven't seen him for three hours. He must have been driving for two hours.

The only reasonable conclusion is that he was driving for two hours. (Correct.)

Not very logical, however. Is that what you normally say? I mean, suppose you haven't seen one of your friends for three hours. Do you say that the only thing that could have happened is that he was driving for two hours? Of all the reasons there are for your friend's not being seen, why would driving come to your mind? Why not say, "He must have been captured by pirates"? That would make just as much sense.

I would just say, "He must be busy".

tenjingThe sentence could mean he is still driving and also he is not driving now,right?

Yes, but that has very little to do with anything. You have no evidence that he was driving. When you don't see someone, it doesn't mean they are driving. Because of that, you have no evidence about how long he was driving. Because of that, you would never say that he must have been driving for one hour, for two hours, or for any length of time.

tenjingAre the sentences correct with 'must have/have been'?

Again, the last sentence is the problem sentence. The present perfect (haven't seen) counts as a present tense point of view. A modal perfect (must have) counts as a past tense point of view. That's why I said above that I would say "He must be busy", not "He must have been busy".

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

what about "he must have had hard time doing that job" ?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhat about "He must have had a hard time doing that job"?

As corrected above, that sentence is grammatically correct.

CJ

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