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Must Not Have.......

 

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  #1  
Old December 07, 2021, 08:05 PM
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Must Not Have.......

I wanted to say: We must not have noticed that Lilia came home last night. I was unsure how to say it, so I didn't

But now that I have had time to think about it, I'm still not totally sure. Are either of these correct?

No nos debemos haber dado cuenta que Lilia volvió a casa anoche.

No nos habremos dado cuenta que Lilia volvió a casa anoche.


The first sentence comes to mind because it is closer to a word-for-word translation, but I THINK I have seen the second construct to mean "must not have," but I'm unsure, so any input with explanations is appreciated.
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  #2  
Old December 08, 2021, 12:35 PM
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I don't think that must has the imperative meaning that it usually has in English
in this case.I would translate with probablamente or a lo mejor. There is another way of saying it with the imperfect subjunctive--i believe, but i would leave that solution up to someone with a more perfect command of the language.
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  #3  
Old December 08, 2021, 02:27 PM
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You almost got it right.

No debemos habernos dado cuenta de que ...
-or-
No nos debemos haber dado cuenta de que ...
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  #4  
Old December 09, 2021, 10:33 AM
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Thanks. I'm glad to know that I was close.

Does that mean that my second option

No nos habremos dado cuenta de que Lilia volvió a casa anoche

is completely off base?

I'm not sure why I thought using the future tense of "haber" was a viable option.
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  #5  
Old December 09, 2021, 12:47 PM
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There's no reason to use the future tense in this case, especially to mean what you wrote.
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  #6  
Old December 10, 2021, 11:49 AM
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Thank you, Rusty.
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