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past tense of must in reported speech

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Inchoateknowledge  #275971  Wed, 04 Oct 06 10:50 AM

1.) "You must be wrong," he said. (probability)

will be:

He said I must be wrong.

and not

He said I had to be wrong.

-------------------------------------

2.) "You must appologize," he said. (external moral obligation)

will be:

He said I had to appologize.

and not

He said I must appologize.

--------------------------------------

Am I right in thinking that 'must' goes through a modal change if and only if it expresses obligation or necessity?

Please, note that I made up the sentences myself -- they might be incorrect.

Thanks.

  
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milky  #276002  Wed, 04 Oct 06 12:58 PM
<1.) "You must be wrong," he said. (probability)

will be:

He said I must be wrong.

and not

He said I had to be wrong.>

Would you say that epistemic "you have to be wrong" is common"?

  
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Hume said that if we had perfect or complete descriptive knowledge of reality, we could not, by reasoning, derive a single valid "ought".
Inchoateknowledge  #276008  Wed, 04 Oct 06 01:20 PM

Would you say that epistemic "you have to be wrong" is common"?

scarce as hen's teeth.

  
Marius Hancu  #276015  Wed, 04 Oct 06 01:43 PM
As per Swan, must is usually unchanged in indirect speech after past reporting verbs:
-------
Direct: It must be really late. I really must go.
Indirect: She said it must be pretty late and she really must go.

Swan, reporting (3), advanced points, modal verbs in indirect speech
-------
Valid for other modals too.

  
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Inchoateknowledge  #276021  Wed, 04 Oct 06 01:58 PM

page 337?

Hi Marius.

361/6 advanced point?

The doctor said I had to/must stop smoking. Indeed, but

this book says it has to be changed:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grammar-Vocabulary-Cambridge-Advanced-Proficiency/dp/0582518210

  
Marius Hancu  #276026  Wed, 04 Oct 06 02:17 PM
We might not have the same edition.
In my case, it's
Swan
482, reporting (3), advanced points, item 5, modal verbs in indirect speech
on page 505

  
Marius Hancu  #276027  Wed, 04 Oct 06 02:21 PM
Both versions seem acceptable (and I think so), per this reference quoting Quirk:

http://www.longman.com/ae/azar/grammar_ex/message_board/archive/articles/00023.htm


  
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