Must not have done for deduction
Sam must not have eaten. - for It's probable that he hasn't eaten.
Modal must in the negative with a perfect infinitive:
NGrams show it's becoming (or has become) a norm for negative supposition about the past.
I used to think the only possible way to put that correctly in English with a modal was:
Sam cannot / couldn't have eaten.
YET, it seems like it's quite some time since it even found its way into grammar practice books...
(1) How regular does it sound? Is there still an element of novelty to it?
(2) Are there any prosodic peculiarities about Sam must not have eaten to make it sound more distinct as supposition? Or does it sound exactly as Sam cannot have eaten intonation-wise? (To put it bluntly, is there a sort of pause after must and a stress on not?)
(3) Is its contracted form just as used as the full one? (which should also imply that its prosodic pattern is equivalent to that of Sam can't have eaten...).
Thank you in advance,
YETY
Top answer
YETYland NGrams show it's becoming (or has become) a norm for negative supposition about the past. Are you getting similar results for both American and British English? I ask because it seems to me that 'must not' for 'cannot' is more American than British.
- YETYland NGrams show it's becoming (or has become) a norm for negative supposition about the past.
- Are you getting similar results for both American and British English?
- I ask because it seems to me that 'must not' for 'cannot' is more American than British.
- YETYland I used to think the only possible way to put that correctly in English with a modal was:Sam cannot / couldn't have eaten.
- You can stop thinking like that.
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YETYlandNGrams show it's becoming (or has become) a norm for negative supposition about the past.
Are you getting similar results for both American and British English? I ask because it seems to me that 'must not' for 'cannot' is more American than British.
YETYlandI used to think the only possible way to put that correctly in E
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