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Navitasan Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Might/could
Is there a difference between:
1-If he were here, he could help me.
and:
2-If he were here, he might help me.
I think "1" means he would have the ability to help me if he were here. The sentence implies that he would help me if he were here.
The second one seems much more tentative to me. It suggest that he might not help me even if he were here.
Sentence "1" seems to be about ability and not about possibility. If I am correct, neither sentence can be used instead of the other one.
Is there a difference between:
3-If he saw this, he could have a heart attack.
and:
4-If he saw this, he might have a heart attack.
It seems to me that there is no significant difference between "3" and "4".
Gratefully,
Navi.
1-If he were here, he could help me.
and:
2-If he were here, he might help me.
I think "1" means he would have the ability to help me if he were here. The sentence implies that he would help me if he were here.
The second one seems much more tentative to me. It suggest that he might not help me even if he were here.
Sentence "1" seems to be about ability and not about possibility. If I am correct, neither sentence can be used instead of the other one.
Is there a difference between:
3-If he saw this, he could have a heart attack.
and:
4-If he saw this, he might have a heart attack.
It seems to me that there is no significant difference between "3" and "4".
Gratefully,
Navi.
Top answer
navitasan I think "1" means he would have the ability to help me. I agree. navitasan The sentence implies that he would help me if he were here.
- navitasan I think "1" means he would have the ability to help me.
- I agree.
- navitasan The sentence implies that he would help me if he were here.
- I don’t agree.
- It just states the ability.
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1 Answers
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navitasanI think "1" means he would have the ability to help me.I agree.
navitasanThe sentence implies that he would help me if he were here.I don’t agree. It just states the ability. But with could, it is reasonable to assume that you would expect him to be willing to help you if he were here.
navi
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