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Zed
Guest
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| Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 7:11 am
Post subject: may v's might |
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Is there a rule when using 'may' and 'might' in a sentence?
I always have to stop and think whether to use 'might' or 'may' in a
sentence. I end up just picking the one that sounds right rather than
using the correct one.
"The courts have said that there may/might not be a conscious intention
to create a trust fund. So even though Bob may/might not have had a
conscious intention to form a trust fund, his conduct suggested otherwise". |
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Don Phillipson
Guest
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| Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 4:57 pm
Post subject: Re: may v's might |
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"Zed" <z@zed.com> wrote in message
news:428d5fe7$0$10307$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
| Quote: | Is there a rule when using 'may' and 'might' in a sentence?
. . .
"The courts have said that there may/might not be a conscious intention
to create a trust fund. So even though Bob may/might not have had a
conscious intention to form a trust fund, his conduct suggested
otherwise". |
May and might indicate different moods of the verb
(indicative and subjunctive) or else the conditional
tense. Many people do indeed make their choice
automatically (which is how we learned our mother
tongues) but grammar books explain the difference
for those that want to look more deeply.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada) |
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CDB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 6:58 pm
Post subject: Re: may v's might |
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"Don Phillipson" <d.phillipson@ttrryytteell.com> wrote in message
news:Vikje.3341$pi1.18123@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
| Quote: | "Zed" <z@zed.com> wrote in message
news:428d5fe7$0$10307$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
Is there a rule when using 'may' and 'might' in a sentence?
. . .
"The courts have said that there may/might not be a conscious
intention
to create a trust fund. So even though Bob may/might not have had a
conscious intention to form a trust fund, his conduct suggested
otherwise".
May and might indicate different moods of the verb
(indicative and subjunctive) or else the conditional
tense. Many people do indeed make their choice
automatically (which is how we learned our mother
tongues) but grammar books explain the difference
for those that want to look more deeply.
|
They can indicate different tenses, too, as in reported speech. He
said, "I may be able to help." He said he might be able to help. CDB |
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Mike Lyle
Guest
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| Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 7:22 pm
Post subject: Re: may v's might |
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CDB wrote:
| Quote: | "Don Phillipson" <d.phillipson@ttrryytteell.com> wrote in message
news:Vikje.3341$pi1.18123@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
"Zed" <z@zed.com> wrote in message
news:428d5fe7$0$10307$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
Is there a rule when using 'may' and 'might' in a sentence?
. . .
"The courts have said that there may/might not be a conscious
intention
to create a trust fund. So even though Bob may/might not have had
a
conscious intention to form a trust fund, his conduct suggested
otherwise".
May and might indicate different moods of the verb
(indicative and subjunctive) or else the conditional
tense. Many people do indeed make their choice
automatically (which is how we learned our mother
tongues) but grammar books explain the difference
for those that want to look more deeply.
They can indicate different tenses, too, as in reported speech. He
said, "I may be able to help." He said he might be able to help.
CDB |
And, a perfect example from my reading, " [the passage] might have
been written by [XXX]; and, indeed, it may have been." A little
old-fashioned; but an awful lot of the books we read are by dead
people, and it's not a bad idea to know what they actually mean.
It's very important, too, to preserve the distinction, in formal
language, between "He may have been killed" and "He might have been
killed": the misusage is not uncommon on BBC news programmes and in
the papers in cases where the intended meaning isn't clear without a
moment's thought.
--
Mike. |
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Raymond S. Wise
Guest
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| Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 7:41 pm
Post subject: Re: may v's might |
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"Don Phillipson" <d.phillipson@ttrryytteell.com> wrote in message
news:Vikje.3341$pi1.18123@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
| Quote: | "Zed" <z@zed.com> wrote in message
news:428d5fe7$0$10307$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
Is there a rule when using 'may' and 'might' in a sentence?
. . .
"The courts have said that there may/might not be a conscious intention
to create a trust fund. So even though Bob may/might not have had a
conscious intention to form a trust fund, his conduct suggested
otherwise".
May and might indicate different moods of the verb
(indicative and subjunctive) or else the conditional
tense. Many people do indeed make their choice
automatically (which is how we learned our mother
tongues) but grammar books explain the difference
for those that want to look more deeply.
|
The vast majority of English grammar books, in my experience, will not
identify "may"- and "might"-constructions as being in the subjunctive mood.
They will say that the "may"-construction, for example, either is used where
the subjunctive would be used in other languages, or it is used as a
substitute for the formulaic subjunctive, as when the "may"-construction in
"May God bless you" is used instead of the formulaic subjunctive of "God
bless you."
(Some grammars will say that the subjunctive mood does not exist at all in
English, but that's a separate discussion.)
--
Raymond S. Wise
Mijnneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 2:31 am
Post subject: Re: may v's might |
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Raymond S. Wise wrote:
| Quote: | "Don Phillipson" <d.phillipson@ttrryytteell.com> wrote in message
news:Vikje.3341$pi1.18123@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
"Zed" <z@zed.com> wrote in message
news:428d5fe7$0$10307$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
Is there a rule when using 'may' and 'might' in a sentence?
. . .
"The courts have said that there may/might not be a conscious
intention
to create a trust fund. So even though Bob may/might not have had
a
conscious intention to form a trust fund, his conduct suggested
otherwise".
May and might indicate different moods of the verb
(indicative and subjunctive) or else the conditional
tense. Many people do indeed make their choice
automatically (which is how we learned our mother
tongues) but grammar books explain the difference
for those that want to look more deeply.
The vast majority of English grammar books, in my experience, will
not
identify "may"- and "might"-constructions as being in the subjunctive
mood.
They will say that the "may"-construction, for example, either is
used where
the subjunctive would be used in other languages, or it is used as a
substitute for the formulaic subjunctive, as when the
"may"-construction in
"May God bless you" is used instead of the formulaic subjunctive of
"God
bless you."
(Some grammars will say that the subjunctive mood does not exist at
all in
English, but that's a separate discussion.)
--
Raymond S. Wise
Mijnneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com
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A few years ago, one hardly ever heard "may." Now, one hardly ever
hears "might." A TV reporter, standing in front of two women who had
departed a burning building by a window, said, "If they hadn't been
able to open the window, they may have been killed." That should have
been "might"! "May" would have correct if their fate were unknown, if
they were missing.
Cece |
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