I must have paid

[mylevt]

Hi,
Is it correct if I use "must have paid" in this case?
"I must have paid the telephone bill by tomorrow."
Thanks.

[tedtmc]

I must (have paid) pay the telephone bill by tomorrow.

Why use the prefect tense when the action has not happened yet?

not a teacher

[David L.]

Present Perfect tense tells us about a period of time, from some point in the past up to now.
You could say:
I must have paid the bill!

...but if you add 'by tomorrow', you have gone past 'now' and into the future.
So:
I must pay the bill by tomorrow.

[Raymott]

Why use the prefect tense when the action has not happened yet?
not a teacher

Don't forget there is a future perfect tense.
"I will have to have paid this bill by tomorrow." (Not a good example)
"There's no way I will have paid it by tomorrow!"
The "now" component in the future perfect refers to the time tomorrow at which the speaker will be able (or not) to say "I have paid it".
(I'm not suggesting that the future perfect should be used in this example).

[Jaskin]

Hello,

Would the sntence " I'd better pay the bill by tomorrow." works in that case ?
Is it stronger than:
"I must pay the bill by tomorrow." ?


Cheers.

[David L.]

It would be correct, but not as strong as 'must'