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English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
May/might
One of the meanings of may and might is to be allowed to:
The members of the organization agreed that I may join it.
The members of the organization agreed that I might join it.
1) Is this use of might still used? To me, I would read 'might' to be expressing possibility.
2) Also, is might sometimes used as a present tense verb correctly, as I regularly hear it spoken as such?
It might rain--instead of it may rain.
Thanks
The members of the organization agreed that I may join it.
The members of the organization agreed that I might join it.
1) Is this use of might still used? To me, I would read 'might' to be expressing possibility.
2) Also, is might sometimes used as a present tense verb correctly, as I regularly hear it spoken as such?
It might rain--instead of it may rain.
Thanks
Top answer
It is of course possible that some people use might as a past tense of may indicating permission. I wouldn't recommend that as it is generally ragarded as wrong. To me, might in your second sentence does express possibility rather than permission.
- It is of course possible that some people use might as a past tense of may indicating permission.
- I wouldn't recommend that as it is generally ragarded as wrong.
- To me, might in your second sentence does express possibility rather than permission.
- For permission, I would prefer: The members of the organization agreed that I was allowed/permitted to join it.
- There might be better ways to convey the idea: They unanimously endorsed my membership.
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3 Answers
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It is of course possible that some people use might as a past tense of may indicating permission. I wouldn't recommend that as it is generally ragarded as wrong. To me, might in your second sentence does express possibility rather than permission. For permission, I would prefer: The members of the organization agreed that I was allowed/permitted to join it. There migh
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Cool BreezeI wouldn't recommend that as it is generally ragarded as wrong.Thanks. I got that from an English site. That's odd.
What about my final question?
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With regard to your second question, might usually suggests a higher degree of uncertainty.
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