原书主词条 · 10 个连续词条

must

原书 PDF 第 952—957 页

must¹

must 表推测

问

ANN: This is home cooking! CHEN: Mum, it must be more delicious!

《中学英语句型·词组大全》(清华大学出版社, p.84) 对上面的句子作了如下注释:

“(妈妈,那个菜说不定更好吃!”

This must be Lucy's. (这大概是露茜的东西。)(没有把握,只是推测。)

不解释为:这一定是露茜的。这就变得很有把握,不属推测。”

《高中英语重点·难点纵横谈》(中国科技大学出版社, p.232) 对这个问题作了进一步的论述:

“must be 是一种推测,不是绝对有把握。我们说‘他说不定是个专家吧’。英语要说:‘He must be an expert.’… She must be very rich. （她说不定很有钱。）”

我不明白为什么“must be”不能译为“一定是”。请解释。

答

应当搞清楚，must 和 might 虽然都可表推测，但它们所表达的肯定程度是不同的。must 所表达的肯定程度最大，相当于汉语的“一定”“准是”（表示说话人对自己的推测确信无疑）。请分析汉语“一定”的真实含义：

他一定会同意(这儿一定有人来过/这件事,他一定不知道(《现代汉语八百词》,p.530) might 所表达的肯定程度最低,相当于汉语的“大概”“大约”“也许”。英语里有许多表达推测的情态动词,它们所表达的肯定程度是按照下面的顺序递增的(参见 $can^{7,8}$ ):

might→may→could→can→should→ought to→would→will→must

That might(... should... would... must) be his mother.

这或许是(……该是……可能是……一定是)他的母亲。

让我们援引英国著名语法学家 R. Quirk 等人对这个问题的论述：

"The Smiths must have a lot of money.

……它表示说话人把从句的表述断定为必然是真实的，或者，至少非常可能是真实的。must 的这一含义表明，说话人从已经知道或观察到的事情中得出了结论。例如，在上例中，说话人已经观察到史密斯一家住的是大房子，坐的是豪华轿车等等，因此，他得出了他们一定很富有的结论。”

由此,不难看出,这种含义的 must 一般应译为“一定”“必定”“肯定”“准是”。

They must be telling lies. = It is certain that they are telling lies. 他们一定在说谎。= 他们在说谎,那是肯定无疑的。
You must know Ann. = I feel sure that you know her. 你一定认识安。=我肯定你认识她。
‘That must be how Langdon got here,’ Collet said. ‘Call the rental company. Find out if it’s stolen.’ (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 科莱说: “兰登肯定是坐这辆车来的。给汽车出租公司打电话, 看看是不是偷来的。”
You must be joking! 你一定是在开玩笑。
Harry's been driving all day — he must be tired. 哈里开了一整天车！——他一定累了。
You're having a baby! You must be very happy. 你们有小孩了！你们一定很幸福。
“There must be some mistake,” said Dr Baker. “一定是出了什么差错，”贝克博士说。
Suddenly someone said, “Has anyone seen Sun Yao? He must be lost.” 突然有人说：“有没有人看见孙尧？他准是迷路了。”
“The lion! It must be the lion from the zoo!” “狮子！准是动物园的那头狮子！”

may(might)一般可以译为“可能”“说不定”“大概”：

You may/might be right. (It is possible that you are right.) 你可能(也许,说不定)是对的。
He may be engaged. 他可能定婚了。

must²

问

She could/should/ought to/may/will/must have arrived by now. (PEU)

[原译]她现在可能/应该/一定/或许/必定/想必已经到了。(《英语用法指南》,外研社、牛津大学出版社,p.359)

请问上句中的 must 译为“想必”是否恰当？

答

我们在上条中已经论证，must表示推测的肯定程度最大，因此不能译为“想必”，而必须译为“必定”“肯定”“一定”“准是”。在汉语里，“想必”表示推测的肯定程度大大小于“一定”“必定”。例如，“他没有回答我，想必是没有听见我的话。”可见上面的译文没有把“肯定程度递增”这一层意思表达出来。

这里还要附带指出，把“ought to”译为“一定”，把“will”译为“必定”，也是不恰当的，见ought to $^{1}$ ，will have done $^{5}$ 。

[试译]她现在可能/应该/应该/或许/想必/一定已经到了。

must³

问

（1）We must conclude from the work of those who have studied the origin of life, that given a planet only approximately like our own, life is almost certain to start. (New Concept English, Book 4, L. 54)

[原译]我们必须根据研究生命起源的人们的著作来下结论:假设有一颗仅仅近似我们地球的行星,则几乎可以肯定生命即将开始。(中译本)

must 在这里作“必须”解吗?

答

大家知道,must除作“必须”解之外,还可作“肯定”“必定”“一定”解。在后一情况下,must表示说话人自认为很准确的推测。请注意,在这里must主要是表示说话人的态度,而不是表示主语所代表的人的态度或义务。这种用法的must一般是不能译为“必须”的。例如:

There must be a mistake. 这里肯定有错误。
These particles must be very small. 这些粒子必定是很小的。
The scientist must have been working on this problem for many years. 这位科学家肯定许多年来一直在研究这个问题。

[试译]根据研究生命起源的科学家们的著作,我们一定会得出这样的结论:如果有一颗行星,只要那里的条件与地球大致相似,那么在那里几乎可以肯定有生命诞生。

(2) Ships may be delayed by storms; air flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time. Only an exceptionally heavy snow fall might temporarily dislocate railway services. (New Concept English, Book3, p. 92)

[原译]轮船可被风暴耽搁，航空可因天气恶劣而被取消。但火车必须准时。铁路业务，只有非同寻常的大雪才能打乱。（中译本）

这里的 must 也不是指“必须”。如果谈到“必须准时”的话，那么飞机、轮船也都“必须准时”，而不单单是火车。这里的 must 是表示说话人所认定的逻辑上的必然性。

[试译]轮船可能因为大风暴而误点，飞机航班可能因天气不好而取消，但火车一定是准时的。只有异常的大雪才能暂时打乱正常的铁路运输。

这里应当指出,由于 must 既作“必须”解,又作“一定”解,所以有些孤立的句子常常是有歧义的:

He must understand that we mean business.

(a)他一定明白我们是当真的。

(b)他必须明白我们不是在开玩笑。

must⁴

问

请问 must 都有哪些否定形式?

答

由于 must 的含义不同,其否定式是不同的。

A. 当 must 作“必须”解时, 其否定式为 don't have to 或 needn't, don't need to:

“Must I come at four o'clock?” “Oh no, you needn't come at four.” (Eckersley) “我必须在四点钟来么?” “哦，你不必在四点来。”
A: Must we pack now? 我们必须现在打包装吗？

B: No, we don't have to pack till tomorrow. (CGEL) 不, 我们可以到明天再打包装。

A: Must I wait? 我必须等吗?

B: No, you need not. /you needn't. /You don't have to (wait). (EGS) 不, 你不必(等)。

must not (mustn't)并不是作“必须”解的 must 的否定式,它表示说话人不许或者禁止(某人做某事),在此意义上它相当于 may not:

You mustn't go swimming today. = You may not go swimming today. (CGEL) 不许你今天去游泳。
You mustn't drive so fast. (EGS) 不许开车开得这么快。

B. 当 must 表示“推测”，作“一定”“必定”时，其否定式为 can't:

A: They must be hungry. A: 他们一定是饿了。

B: They can't be(hungry). (EGS) B: 他们不可能饿。

A: They must have been tired. A: 他们一定是累了。

B: Oh, they can't have been(tired). (EGS) B: 哦, 他们不可能累。

偶尔，也采用 mustn't 来代替 can't。见 mustn't/can't。

练习

Johnny, you ____ play with the knife, you ____ hurt yourself.
1. A
  won't; can't
2. B
  mustn't; may
3. C
  shouldn't; must
4. D
  can't; shouldn't(全国高考,96-8)
“May I stop work a little earlier tonight?” “No, you ____.
1. A
  needn’t
2. B
  mustn’t
3. C
  won’t
4. D
  shouldn’t

must⁵

问

Why must she be so nasty to me?

请问这里的 must 是什么意思？

答

must 还有一种含义：“偏要”“硬要”。表示说话人对主语所发出的动作或行为是不希望的，不满的甚至是生气的。must 用于第二人称时，常常含有讽刺挖苦的意思：

Why must you be so stubborn? (《新英汉词典》) 你为什么偏要这么固执呢？
He must come and worry her with questions, just when she was busy cooking the dinner. (ALD) 正当她忙着做饭的时候,他偏偏来问一些问题打扰她。
Just when we were ready to go away for the holidays, the baby must catch measles. (ALD) 正当我们准备动身去度假的时候，婴儿偏偏患上了麻疹。
If you must smoke, at least you could use an ashtray. (CGEL) 如果你偏要抽烟,那你至少要用个烟灰缸。
If you must know, I'm going to help him look for an apartment. (EED) 如果你偏要知道,那我告诉你,我要去帮助他找一套公寓。
Why must it always rain on Saturdays? 为什么偏偏星期六总是下雨？
As I was sitting down to lunch, the electric bell must ring. 我刚要坐下来吃午饭，电铃偏偏这时响了起来。

练习

Why ____ you always interrupt me?
1. A
  can
2. B
  will
3. C
  may
4. D
  must
Naturally, after I told her what to do, my daughter ____ go and do the opposite!
1. A
  may
2. B
  can
3. C
  must
4. D
  should(安徽高考,03 春 - 27)
——May I smoke here? ——If you ____, choose a seat in the smoking section.
1. A
  should
2. B
  could
3. C
  may
4. D
  must （全国高考山东卷,06-30）

must⁶

间接引语中的 must

问

有的教科书上说，直接引语中的 must 在间接引语中必须换成 had to。果真如此吗？

答

在间接引语中，must 既可以用 had to 来代替，也可以保持原形不变。

His parents told him that he $\left\{\begin{array}{l} must \\ had to \end{array}\right\}$ be in by ten that night. (CGEL) 他的父母告诉他那天晚上他必须10点以前到家。
“I must go.”→He said he must[ had to] go. (PEU) “我必须去。”他说他必须去。
He said he $\left\{\begin{array}{l} must leave early. \\ had to leave early. (NCE,2,p.17) \end{array}\right.$ 他说他必须早走。
She said they must go early the next day. (LEG) 她说他们第二天必须早走。
He said that they must be hungry. 他说他们一定饿了。

据 L. G. Alexander 的解释, 在间接引语中使用 must 与使用 had to 在意义上是有区别的: He said he must leave early. (说此话时他尚未离开) 他说他必须早走。

He said he had to leave early. (说此话时他已离开) 他说他不得不早走。

此外,need, ought to, had better 本身没有过去时形式,因而它们在间接引语中仍保留其原有形式。

He warned me that I had better not say anything about that. (CGEL) 他警告我最好不要

对那件事说什么。

The doctor told him (that) he ought to slow down a bit. (LEG) 医生告诉他应该放慢一些节奏。
The boss said I needn't come the next day. (LEG) 老板说我第二天不必来了。

must⁷

must have been

问

Over a hundred people must have been driven away from their homes by the noise. (New Concept English, Book 2, L. 21)

[原译]共有一百多人因为怕吵而被迫搬了家。[《新概念英语》(2)，朗文出版公司、世界图书出版公司，1993，p.81]

must 在这里无任何意义吗?

答

原文中的 must 显然是表“推测”。但译文却没有把这层意思表达出来，而变成一种纯客观事实说法了。

[试译]有一百多人肯定是被这噪音赶出了自己的家园。

must⁸

mustn't 是 must 的否定形式吗?

问

The other students in the class keep their eyes closed. They mustn't look.

mustn't 是 must 的否定形式吗?

答

从形式上看, mustn't(must not)是must的否定形式,但从意义上看,它并不是作“必须”解的must的否定形式。作“必须”解的否定形式为:need not, don't need to, don't have to(不必)。

“Must I come at four o'clock?” “Oh no, you needn't come at four.” “我必须4点钟来吗?” “哦，不，你不必4点来。”
“We must stay home, mustn't we?” “Yes, you must. [No, you don't have to.]” “我们必须留在家里，是吗？”“是，你们应当留在家里。[不，你们不用。]”

mustn't(must not)的含义是:“禁止”“不允许”“不可以”“不准”:

You must not tell a lie. 你不许说谎。
You mustn't play on the road. 你们不允许在马路上玩。
You mustn't smoke in the classroom. 你不得在教室里吸烟。
We mustn't be late, must we? 我们不许迟到, 是吧?

应当牢记的是，mustn't(must not)是may的否定式，相当于may not，见may not/mustn't。

[句意]他们不许看。

练习

—Must we do it now? —No, you ____.
1. A
  won't
2. B
  needn't
3. C
  can't
4. D
  don't(全国高考)
——May I stop here? ——No, you ____.
1. A
  mustn't
2. B
  might not
3. C
  needn't
4. D
  won't(上海高考)

must⁹

must 作“必须”解, mustn't 作“不允许”解时的附加疑问句

问

We must help the old woman, ____ we?

A. mustn't B. must C. needn't D. need

我选了 C, 因为 must 的否定形式是 needn't。

答

选 C 当然是正确的,但是选 A 也是正确的。因为当 must 作“必须”解时,也可以用 mustn't 构成附加疑问句:

They must clean the floor, mustn't/needn't they? 他们必须擦地板,是不是?
We must stay home, mustn't we? 我们必须留在家里,是不是?

当 mustn't 作“不允许”解时,则可以用 must 或 may 构成附加疑问句:

We mustn't be late, must/may we? 我们不许迟到,是不是?

练习

You mustn't tell it to your mother, ____?
1. A
  must you
2. B
  do you
3. C
  need you
4. D
  will you
The students must hand in their term papers in a week, ____? No, they ____.
1. A
  needn't they; mustn't
2. B
  mustn't they; mustn't
3. C
  mustn't they; needn't
4. D
  shouldn't they; should

must¹⁰

must 表推测时的附加疑问句

问

They must be playing basketball, ____?

A. must they B. mustn't they C. are they D. aren't they 《中国高考英语考点50讲》(南大出版社，p.228)给的答案是D，并解答说：“must表示猜测，附加疑问部分要与must之后的主要动词相呼应。” 请说明上题为什么不可以选B。

答

上面的答案和解答是正确的,见 tag questions $^{2}$ 之五。但是,根据 PEU 1995 年版上的例句,上题也可以选 B:

It must be nice to be a cat, mustn't it? 做猫一定很好,是不是?再如:

He must have left, mustn't he? 他一定离开了,是不是?

薄冰教授也举过这样的例子：

He must have left, mustn't he? [《英语语法札记》(四), p. 288]
She must have come to some harm to be out on the loose like she was, mustn't she? [《教你解决语法难点》(一), p. 127]

(参见 tag questions $^{2}$ 之五)