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Navitasan Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Afraid

1-I am afraid that he is going to come here.
2-I am afraid that he might be going to come here.
Is there a difference between the meanings of "1" and "2"?
Does "1" imply that he is certainly going to come here?

3-I am afraid that I am guilty for what happened.
4-I am afraid that I might be guilty for what happened.
Is there a difference between the meanings of "3" and "4"?

Gratefully,
Navi.
  

Top answer

Does "1" imply that he is certainly going to come here? It is difficult to give a precise answer. 'I am afraid' may, in itself, express a regret about a certainty, or an anxiety about a possibility.

— Fivejedjon

  • Does "1" imply that he is certainly going to come here?
  • It is difficult to give a precise answer.
  • 'I am afraid' may, in itself, express a regret about a certainty, or an anxiety about a possibility.
  • 'He is going to come' almost certainly means that there is present evidence of his future coming, but could suggest the speaker's view of that person's intentions.
  • All we can say with a degree of gcnfidence is that with 'is going to' the coming is seen as more certain that it is with 'might be going to'.
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5 Answers
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navitasan1-I am afraid that he is going to come here.2-I am afraid that he might be going to come here.Is there a difference between the meanings of "1" and "2"?Does "1" imply that he is certainly going to come here?
It is difficult to give a precise answer. 'I am afraid' may, in itself, express a regret about a certainty, or an anxiety about a possibility. 'H
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I feel the need to point out that might be going to do something sounds extremely unnatural to me. I have never said it, and I don’t recall ever hearing a native speaker say it. I would expect something like #1 or I am afraid that he might come here.
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There are 36 citations for 'might be going to' in the Corpus of Contemporary American English, so it is used.
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Most of them, I expect, are followed by a place: He might be going to jail. That is perfectly natural. I was talking about might be going to [action].
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Aspara GusMost of them, I expect, are followed by a place: He might be going to jail. That is perfectly natural. I was talking about might be going to [action].
Yes; I did not check thoroughly. However, twelve are 'might be going to verb'.
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