grammar · neutral
must have + past participle
Band 6-7speakingtask2
Used to make a strong logical deduction about a past event; expresses that something very likely happened.
Examples
“Given the empty plates, they must have finished dinner already.”
“He must have missed the bus because he's not here.”
“She must have left early; her coat isn't on the chair.”
Band 8 sentence
“Given the lights were off and the car was gone, they must have left hours ago.”
Collocations
- must have + V3 (e.g. must have forgotten)
- must have been + V3 (passive deduction)
Common mistakes
He must went home.→He must have gone home.
He must be gone.→He must have gone.
Say it for a higher band
5I think he left.→6He must be gone.→7+He must have gone.
Synonyms
must be
Easily confused
might have + past participle
“She might have missed the bus because she left the house late.”
Related words
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In Tenses
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