Perfect infinitive

Alexander B.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Perfect infinitive

Hola,

I thought assumption about the past (must have + verb) was expressed by means of DEBE (Deber in El Presented) + Infinitivo Compuesto, however the following examples refute it:

Los chicos han debido de beber bastante porque huelen a alcohol.
They boys must have drunk quite a lot as they smell of alcohol.

El tren debió de llegar sobre las cuatro y media.
The train must have arrived at about four thirty.

Could you please clarify this point, because I'm feeling a bit confused 

Asked 6 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola Alexander,

Strong assumption about the past (must have + verb) can be expressed with deber in different tenses, not only in the present, as it says inside the lesson.

You may have got confussed because there were a couple of examples in the lesson that were in the present but they werre inside the box that was saying "you can use other tenses as well". That has been fixed now.

I hope this clarifies it.

Gracias y un saludo

Inma

Alexander B.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Hola Inma!

Gracias por su respuesta))

Alexander

Perfect infinitive

Hola,

I thought assumption about the past (must have + verb) was expressed by means of DEBE (Deber in El Presented) + Infinitivo Compuesto, however the following examples refute it:

Los chicos han debido de beber bastante porque huelen a alcohol.
They boys must have drunk quite a lot as they smell of alcohol.

El tren debió de llegar sobre las cuatro y media.
The train must have arrived at about four thirty.

Could you please clarify this point, because I'm feeling a bit confused 

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