0
Viceidol Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

may/might have been going=could have been doing?

0Mary was home last night when we went to visit her. She 01b01font00may/might02font00 have been studying02b00 at the library.02br
02br
00May I ask if I could use "01b01font00could02font00 have been studying02b00" instead of "may/might have been studying"? 02br
02br
00Thank you for your help!0-
  

Top answer

02b 02br 02br 01i 00may/might02i 00 shows that you, the reporter, thinks of that as a 01b 00possible02b 00 event in the past (01i 00might02i 00 is more doubtful) 02br 01i 00can/could02i 00 shows that the person had the 01b 00capability of doing it (was able to do02b 00) 0-

— Marius Hancu

  • 02b 02br 02br 01i 00may/might02i 00 shows that you, the reporter, thinks of that as a 01b 00possible02b 00 event in the past (01i 00might02i 00 is more doubtful) 02br 01i 00can/could02i 00 shows that the person had the 01b 00capability of doing it (was able to do02b 00) 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

3 Answers
0
0Many people would do that, but it just introduces confusion, so 01b00I wouldn't.02b02br
02br
01i00may/might02i00 shows that you, the reporter, thinks of that as a 01b00possible02b00 event in the past (01i00might02i00 is more doubtful) 02br
01i00can/could02i00
0
0
0Sorry, the original sentence should be "Mary 01b00wasn't02b00...", not "was".02br
02br
00Mary 01u01b00wasn't02b02u00 home last night when we went to visit her. She 01b01font00may/might02font00 have been studying02b00 at the library.02br
02br
0
0
0 Hi Viceidol02br
02br
00I had a feeling that the word 'not' had been omitted. 02br
00If the first sentence states that '01i00Mary was 01b00not02b00 home'02i00, the second sentence makes more sense to me. 05002br
02br
00Yes, you can say '01i00she 01b00could/may/might 02b
0

Related Questions