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Viceidol Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

one similar meaning of can, could, may and might

1b00"What shall we do?" "We 01font00can02font00 try asking Lucy for help."02b02br
02br
00Can I use "may" or "might" to replace this "can"?02br
02br
01b00"What shall we do tomorrow?" "Well, we 01font00could 02font00go fishing."02b02br
02br
00Can I use "may" or "might" to replace this "could"?02br
02br
00Please give me your opinion about this, thank you very much!0-
  

Top answer

0Yes, you could use them, but I 01b 00wouldn't use them with "we,"02b 00 if you want to be exact, because may/might has the undercurrrent of "permission" and we can't ask permission from ourselves, but we can display a 01b 00capability02b 00, for which 01b 00can/could02b 00 is the best. 0-

— Marius Hancu

  • 0Yes, you could use them, but I 01b 00wouldn't use them with "we,"02b 00 if you want to be exact, because may/might has the undercurrrent of "permission" and we can't ask permission from ourselves, but we can display a 01b 00capability02b 00, for which 01b 00can/could02b 00 is the best.
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7 Answers
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0Yes, you could use them, but I 01b00wouldn't use them with "we,"02b00 if you want to be exact, because may/might has the undercurrrent of "permission" and we can't ask permission from ourselves, but we can display a 01b00capability02b00, for which 01b00can/could02b00 is the best. 0-
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0Can, could, may and might are often misused by English leaners. One of their distinctions is that "can, could" indicate 01font00ability02font00 (i.e. After six months of lessons, she can ride a horse) and "may, might" express 01font00possibility02font00 (i.e. Are you coming to the party? Yes. I may). The t
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Viceidol12cite11b10"What shall we do?" "We 11font10can12font10 try asking Lucy for help."12b12br
12br
10Can I use "may" or "might" to replace this "can"?12br
12blockquote
10 Recall that 01b01font
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01cite10vefigs12cite10The two sentences above indicate possibility, so I think may and might would be more appropriate.12blockquote
10 These are very deceptive. A suggestion is being solicited in the question, so the answer must contain a suggestion. 02br
00A "maybe" statement is not a suggestion.02
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0 CJ said:02br
00>Well, we [could / can / 01font01b00?02b02font00might / 01font01b00*02b02font00may] go fishing.02br
00The "might" is supported by: 02br
00 ------02br
01i00Might 02i00is often used in affirma
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0Yes. You'll note that I accepted 01i00might02i00 fully in the first example. I find it more idiomatic with things like 01i00might 01u00try 02u00-ing02i00, but not so much when it connects directly with the main verb. 01i00might go, might play, might attend02i00. Without the extra "padding" of certain
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0Thank you, Jim and Marius Hancu. Your opinions are very valuable to me.0-
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