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I may have spoiled your fun, but I might never get another chance.
That was great, Dr. Bill!
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Soojin, it's nice to see you back here. In your example, (A) I might have arrived at work on time if I hadn¡¯t got caught in a traffic jam.
(B) You may arrive at work on time if you leave home early enough.
(C) I couldn¡¯t have arrived at work on time because I had got caught in a traffic jam.
(D) You can arrive at work on time if you leave home early enough, though I¡¯m not sure.,
A and C are essentially alike, yes, but--C is not necessariily a true statement, as it is written. For ex., if the traffic jam only lasted a short time. We would say "I didn't arrive at work on time because of the traffic jam". We would only say couldn't have arrived at work on time if there was some incontrovertible fact proving that we were prevented from being there on time, such as every access street being flooded.
B & D are also essentially the same, but again, we wouldn't use the wording as it is in D. We might say, "You can arrive at work on time if you leave home early enough" in certain circumstances (such as a lecture to young adults about to embark on careers). But substituting 'should' for 'can' in your sentence gives a more accurate meaning.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted may and might soojin 03/18/02 08:17 AM Re: may and might Capital Kiwi 03/18/02 11:05 AM Re: may and might Capital Kiwi 03/18/02 11:05 AM Re: may and might Angel 03/18/02 12:09 PM Re: may and might Capital Kiwi 03/18/02 12:58 PM Re: may and might wwh 03/18/02 02:47 PM Re: may and might Capital Kiwi 03/18/02 06:56 PM Re: may and might wwh 03/18/02 07:22 PM Re: may and might soojin 03/19/02 12:31 AM Re: may and might Jackie 03/19/02 02:52 AM Re: may and might soojin 03/19/02 10:36 AM Re: may and might Angel 03/19/02 12:31 AM Re: may and might wwh 03/19/02 01:13 AM Re: may and might Faldage 03/18/02 02:45 PM Re: may and might Sparteye 03/23/02 03:47 PM Re: may and might soojin 03/25/02 07:25 AM
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