Jane,
The question is how independent may and might have become from
each other. The pairs may/might, will/would, shall/should, can/could
represent historical present/past contrasts, but that meaning/form difference goes
back to Old English and is largely lost in Modern English, although under
sequence of tenses conditions it may still show up. However, the sequence
of tenses rules are a lot looser than people tend to think, perhaps part of the
question involved in Brad’s survey, and whether one follows them in a
particular instance depends on other factors than tense. But this gets to
be a complex and messy subject very quickly, and before plunging into it I want
to look at a couple of grammars.
Herb
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jane
Saral
Sent: 2008-02-16 14:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: May and might
So I have been doing some reading on the terms epistemic and
deontic, and I understand them for the present and future, but for
the past tense, I prefer the following (found on Bartleby.com):
Kenneth G.
Wilson (1923–). The
Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
|
may, might (auxs.) |
|
|
For events in the present or immediate future, use either may
or might (I may [might] decide to go after all),
but for past time, most Standard users still prefer only might, as in Yesterday
I might have decided to stay home, not the increasingly encountered Yesterday
I may have decided to stay home. Journalese is now peppered with may
where until recently might has been solidly entrenched. See also CAN
(1); COULD; SEQUENCE
OF TENSES. |
Jane Saral
On Feb 16, 2008 12:54 PM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Carole,
That works for me. I had
overlooked the deontic/epistemic contrast in modals. Your epistemic
reading fits.
Herb
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Carole Hurlbut
Sent: 2008-02-16 11:24
Subject: Re: May and might
My interpretation deals with the probability
involved. May would yield a stronger probability while might
would express more doubt.
Carole Hurlbut
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask]">Jane Saral
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 9:59 AM
Subject: May and might
In this morning's Atlanta Journal Costitution is the following head and subhead:
Study: Slow decisions hurt help for Marines
Tougher truck may have saved troops
I would say that the word might should have been used, since they were not saved. May seems to me appropriate only if they were saved and one is speculating as to why.
Is that a correct assumption? And could someone explain the differences between the two forms?
Jane Saral
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