"Past Probability + Tenses" combo

Question

express probability in the pastSTRUCTURE:  modal + have + past participle    Where was John last night at 10?1. He may have been at his home. This is Past Tense. Right?    He has been in this country for 2 years. (Present Perfect)2. He may have been in this country for 2 years.Isn't #2 exactly same as #1?   The suspect had been to the crime scene. (Past Perfect)3. The suspect may had been here.The suspect may have had been here.Ok, in this situation, I'm completely lost so far. When I tried to describe a Past Perfect situation using the STRUCTURE (modal+have+pastPartipal), the STRUCTURE doesn't seem to fit anymore.I also attached this Formula I found, but it also can't explain it clearly to me. I need someone explain to me how to use different tenses when using modal auxiliary verbs to express Past Probability.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

1. This is Past Tense. Right?-- Right

2. Isn't #2 exactly same as #1?-- The form is the same; the meaning is not-- it includes the present moment.

3. The suspect may have been here.-- This is the correct parallel.

4. The table is a paradigm of all theoretical forms; xvi is rare at best. The corpus of Contemporary American English offers no examples of 'may have been being' at all, and only offers ten instances of 'have been being':

http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=4025718&ID=458056344				don't know what could happen. You know, the worst would have been being charged, potentially being put in jail, being separated from Sean and Amelie.'
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=4027897&ID=457019748				don't know what could happen. You know, the worst would have been being charged, potentially being put in jail, being separated from Sean and Amelie.
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=4020302&ID=331150186				positive attitude involved caring about the team's success. This may simply have been being happy when they won and disappointed when they lost, or something more intense where
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=1013043&ID=412114602				never hear a more. terrible sound in her life. He might have been being skinned alive, or having his soul torn out of his body - she never
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=168023&ID=95170085				ignored over the last decade while it's been going on, records have been being set and they've been breaking attendance records. You now have not just Canseco
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=189899&ID=11881163				-- and, hence, the origins of our solar system -- should have been being handled with tender loving care and on their way to a clean room in Houston
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=3017587&ID=213649951				regime. # The nearly quarter million US soldiers assembling in the Gulf have been being trained for worst-case scenarios, from Scud attacks to bioterror. But are they ready
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=247893&ID=40928896				, for example, these- that whoever was responsible for this directly might have been being used by some other group, but-4:1146 -Yeah, a contract job. Yeah
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=2020412&ID=124587409				I mentioned how I always figured some of those early museum men must have been being ironical in including them. " Well, " Walsh said, " there's
http://www.americancorpus.org/x4.asp?t=221217&ID=42807585				a tax- illegal tax-protest scheme that makes some of the same arguments that have been being made for the last 30 years. If you put your income, if

YoungBuddy · Answer

May have/ Might have ( positive or negative )
It's possible that something happened or didn't happen in the past

For example:
Tom: I looked everywhere for my keys, and I just can't find them
Dina: You may have lost them at work.
That means,
The keys are lost, and Tom doesn't know where exactly he left them, he might have left them at work, at home, or somewhere else. ( It's possible that the keys are either at work or somewhere else "

On the Other hand
Tom: I looked everywhere for my keys, and I just can't find them
Dina: You have left them at work, on your desk.
That means,
They keys are for sure at work, on the desk. ( no need for the modal " may " because they are at work for sure )

akdom The suspect had been to the crime scene. (Past Perfect)

3. The suspect may had been here.

The suspect may have had been here.

Past Perfect is used to describe something that happened before a specific time in the past
- He had left before i arrived ( he had been here for sure before i came, but i didn't see him, because he left)
- He may had left bef
ore i arrived ( It's possible that he was there before i came, or he wasn't )

I don't think this makes any sense " The suspect may have had been here. "

Akdom · Answer

YoungBuddyMay have/ Might have ( positive or negative )

Past Perfect is used to describe something that happened before a specific time in the past

- He had left before i arrived ( he had been here for sure before i came, but i didn't see him, because he left)

- He may had left before i arrived ( It's possible that he was there before i came, or he wasn't )

I don't think this makes any sense " The suspect may have had been here. "

Thank you YoungBuddy.

Is the "structure" MODAL + HAVE, or MODAL + HAD?

Isn't that when using a verb after modals, the verb must be original form?

YoungBuddy · Answer

YoungBuddy- He may had left bef
ore i arrived ( It's possible that he was there before i came, or he wasn't )

I don't think this makes any sense " The suspect may have had been here. "

I am sorry for the horrible mistake i made above ...

The Modal auxiliary verbs are always followed by the base form.
It's not correct to say " May had " .

Yes, you are right .. The form is " May/Might + Have + Past Participle "
The general form is " Modal + Have + Past Participle "

Sorry again for the mistake I made ..

CalifJim · Answer

akdomIs the "structure" MODAL + HAVE, or ~~MODAL + HAD?~~

Isn't that when using a verb after modals, the verb must be original form?

Yes. I assume that by "original form" you mean the bare infinitive or 'dictionary form'. Only the dictionary form of a verb can occur after a modal. That includes have, but not had.

The most usual modals are these nine: will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must.
The corresponding perfect modals are these: will have, would have, shall have, should have, can have, could have, may have, might have, must have.

The modals are always followed by a bare infinitive; the perfect modals are always followed by a past participle.

Of these 18, the following three are not used very often: shall, shall have, can have.

CJ

Akdom · Answer

Thank you, CalifJim, YoungBuddy, Mister Micawber

Here are what I've learned so far. See if I got them right.

Expressing Past Probability with "may have" in different scenarios:

1 Simple Past

Where was he last night?
He may have been at his house last night.

2 Present Perfect

He may have been in this country for years.

(Not a past probability; included present moment)

3 Past Perfect

He may have left before we came.

4 Past Perfect Progressive

He may have been taking the drug for years before we noticed anything.

5 Past Progressive

When the cops showed up last night, what was he doing?
I don’t know. He may have been taking a shower.

1, 2, 3 (SimplePast, PresentPerfect, PastPerfect) all have the same form Modal+Have+Past Participal. You have to see the surrounding context to determine its intended tense.

And, 4, 5 (PastPerfectProgressive, PastProgressive) have the same form

Modal+Have+Been(progressive).

Am I right? In the above cases, in order to figure out their tenses, we can NOT look at their syntax alone, because they are all similar to each other. Context is crucial.

YoungBuddy · Answer

akdom
1 Simple Past
Where was he last night? >>> Simple Past
He may have been at his house last night. >>> Present Perfect

The question is in the form of " simple past " , so the answer should be as well.

Where was he last night ?
He was in the cinema yesterday.
He would be in the cinema yesterday ( to show possibility )

akdom
2 Present Perfect
He may have been in this country for years.

(Not a past probability; included present moment) >> present perfect is used to describe an action that happened in the past ( not a specific time ), that might not be finished yet.

He may have been in this country for years. ( showing possibility, either been or not in the country for years)

akdom
3 Past Perfect
He may have left before we came. >> Modal + present perfect

4 Past Perfect Progressive

He may have been taking the drug for years before we noticed anything. >> Modal + Present perfect continuous
5 Past Progressive
When the cops showed up last night, what was he doing? >> simple past, past continuous
I don’t know. He may have been taking a shower. >>> Modal + Present Perfect Continuous

I don't think that the " Present Perfect " tense refers to a point before another one in the past.
Usually " Past Perfect " is used to describe something before a specific point in the past
He had left before i arrived.

Now my question is,

How can we apply the " Modals Possibility " on the sentence mentioned above ?
He had left before i arrived.

Thanks in Advance

"Past Probability + Tenses" combo

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Thank you, CalifJim, YoungBuddy, Mister Micawber

Expressing Past Probability with "may have" in different scenarios:

1 Simple Past

2 Present Perfect

1 Simple Past

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