nelson13
Member
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- Zhuang
- Home Country
- Bangladesh
- Current Location
- Japan
A paragraph:
He had been traveling by trams since he was in his mother's womb and yet he had never recognized there was such a tablet, a birthmark of some history. 1904. What happened in this year? Must be something significant.
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I know there are some other problems in this paragraph, but my focus is on the red sentence. Obviously the writer is referring to something past; I think he should have said 'must have been something significant'. But I hope to know whether it is ususal or grammatical to simply use MUST BE in this context.
He had been traveling by trams since he was in his mother's womb and yet he had never recognized there was such a tablet, a birthmark of some history. 1904. What happened in this year? Must be something significant.
=============
I know there are some other problems in this paragraph, but my focus is on the red sentence. Obviously the writer is referring to something past; I think he should have said 'must have been something significant'. But I hope to know whether it is ususal or grammatical to simply use MUST BE in this context.