0
Kurdistan Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Past and present again
Does this sentence makes sense gramatically? There are parts cancelled for data protection purposes.
"It may be thought that the fact that they succeeded so... is attributed to miss..... willingness to accept what she saw and heard at face value." He told the inquiry.
What concerns me is why they used may in present and thought in past tense.
"It may be thought that the fact that they succeeded so... is attributed to miss..... willingness to accept what she saw and heard at face value." He told the inquiry.
What concerns me is why they used may in present and thought in past tense.
Top answer
thought here isn't past tense, but past participle (which isn't related to time, even if it name says so) may is a modal verb its connection to times/tenses is quite loose but yes, in this situation it relates to the present may just inserts some element of doubt/probability in this case ... may be thought is overall in present take it as an verbal construction with its present time given mostly by may similar to it can be thought but with more doubt
- thought here isn't past tense, but past participle (which isn't related to time, even if it name says so) may is a modal verb its connection to times/tenses is quite loose but yes, in this situation it relates to the present may just inserts some element of doubt/probability in this case ...
- may be thought is overall in present take it as an verbal construction with its present time given mostly by may similar to it can be thought but with more doubt
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
thought here isn't past tense, but past participle (which isn't related to time, even if it name says so)
may
is a modal verb
its connection to times/tenses is quite loose
but yes, in this situation it relates to the present
may just inserts some element of doubt/probability in this case ...
may
is a modal verb
its connection to times/tenses is quite loose
but yes, in this situation it relates to the present
may just inserts some element of doubt/probability in this case ...
00
KurdistanDoes this sentence makes sense gramatically? There are parts cancelled for data protection purposes.
"It may be thought that the fact that they succeeded so... is attributed to miss..... willingness to accept what she saw and heard at face value." He told the inquiry.
What concerns me is why they used may in present
00
"It may be thought that XYZ happened" = "It is possible to think that XYZ happened". The possibility is present (or future), though XYZ is past.
MrP
MrP
0
Related Questions