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Must Not Have.......If you need help translating a sentence or longer piece of text, use this forum. For translations or definitions of a single word or idiom, use the vocabulary forum. |
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#1
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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
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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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Me ayuda si corrige mis errores. Gracias. |
#3
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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 ... |
#4
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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. |
#5
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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
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Thank you, Rusty.
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