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Lucas21c Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Auxiliary verb
Could you tell me which one sounds okay among in the following (A) ~ (D) sentences?
Thank you.
(1) It must not be true.
(2) It cannot be true.
(3) It may not be true.
(4) It might not be true.
Thank you.
(1) It must not be true.
(2) It cannot be true.
(3) It may not be true.
(4) It might not be true.
Top answer
They're all OK. They just mean different things: (1) It's false. (2) It's impossible for it to be anything but false.
- They're all OK.
- They just mean different things: (1) It's false.
- (2) It's impossible for it to be anything but false.
- (3,4) There's a possibility that it's false.
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3 Answers
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They're all OK. They just mean different things:
(1) It's false.
(2) It's impossible for it to be anything but false.
(3,4) There's a possibility that it's false.
(1) It's false.
(2) It's impossible for it to be anything but false.
(3,4) There's a possibility that it's false.
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Are both of "It can rain tomorrow" "and "It may rain tomorrow" possible? If so, could you tell me what the difference is between them?
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"It can rain" means that it's meteorologically possible for there to be rain.
"It may rain" means that there's a non-zero probability for rain.
Note that "may" sometimes has the connotation of permission that doesn't obtain with rain:
"It may rain" means that there's a non-zero probability for rain.
Note that "may" sometimes has the connotation of permission that doesn't obtain with rain:
- You can go. (You have the physical ability to proceed.)
- You may go. (Or not. It's possible that you'll go, and it's possible that
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