Hello, everyone. My name is Alan Hynds. I work in Mérida, Mexico, as a
translator.
 
I have followed the discussions on this list for several days and am
pleased to see that I may have found a place to pose some of the grammar
questions that I often encounter and that aren't covered in any of the
umpteen style manuals I have.
 
Since I am not a grammarian, I imagine my main contributions will be
precisely the questions I ask you, and which, I hope, will lead to
discussion on points at least some of you hadn't previously considered.
 
Now that I've introduced myself, and hoping that nobody will deem me an
intruder, I thought I might as well get the ball rolling with a question:
 
I am translating book on women in Mexico. In a paragraph explaining Aztec
women's ogligations, the author uses the word "debía," which is the past
tense of the verb "deber," or "must."
 
I'm almost certain I've seen "must" used in the past tense in English, and
my dictionary indicates that this is correct. Nevertheless, a professor I
know tells me this is not recommended--that I need to use "must have," "had
to" or something along this line. However, none of these alternatives work
well in this sentence.
 
My question, then, is: can you use "must" in the past, particularly since
the context makes it clear that the author is referring to people who lived
long ago?
 
Here's part of the sentence:
 
"Since women were an integral part of a group that had not taken the
concept of individualism to its extremes [...] their behavior *must*
reflect their respect for tradition."
 
Anxiously awaiting your opinions,
 
Alan Hynds