新概念英語丨【第一期】關于may與might你不知道的那些事

日期：2017-05-08 11:27 點擊：

　　本次為大家介紹思源教育調研院院長廖懷寶老師給大家總結的一篇關于may和might區(qū)別的文章。

　　教師簡介

　　

 

　　華東師范大學碩士，主攻英語教學法方向。十幾年來，先后在大學和各知名外語培訓機構執(zhí)教，積累了豐富的英語教學經驗和方法，在幫助大量學生提升英語語言能力的同時，又培養(yǎng)了一批青年骨干英語教師隊伍。現(xiàn)任上海思源教育副院長兼教研院院長，帶領旗下的中、外教老師鉆研中小學生課程的教學、教研和服務，開設出了獨具特色的各類課程頗受學生和家長好評。

　　作為情態(tài)動詞，大家都知道m(xù)ight是may的過去式，但可能很多人不知道的是，may和might還存在諸多差別。
 

　　一、may的用法

　　may主要有三種用法：

　　1、表可能性(to talk about a possible situation)，如：

　　· Those reports may prove to be false.

　　· The chorus ,ay look silly,but they sound wonderful.

　　2、表示請求許可(to politely give or ask for permission to do something)，如：

　　· May we come in?

　　· That's all for now,you may go.

　　3、表達祝愿或希望(to express a wish or hope)，如：

　　· May they be very happy in the future.

　　· May you succeed in the coming year.

　　

 

　　二、may與might的區(qū)別

　　might在語法形式上，是may的過去式。所以，如果要表達對現(xiàn)在或未來的猜測的話，一般要用may;而要表達對過去的猜測的話，則要用might。如：

　　· It may take a long time to find a solution to the problem.

　　· He devised a plan whereby he might escape.

　　然而，這種差別在當代英語中越來越小——無論是表達對什么時間的猜測，may和might都可以。如：

　　· 對將來的猜測

　　She thinks she may be going crazy.

　　She thinks she might be going crazy.

　　· 對過去的猜測

　　I might have forgotten to mention it at the time.

　　I may have forgotten to mention it at the time.

　　那么，may和might到底有什么差別呢?

　　

 

　　01 may have與might have

　　如果在說話或寫作的時候，不知道過去發(fā)生的事情的真相，那么may have和might have都可以。如：

　　· √ I think that comment may have offended some people.

　　· √ I think that comment might have offended some people.

　　如果要表達對過去的猜測，但說話者知道所要描述的事情實際上并沒有發(fā)生，那就要采用might have，而不能用may have。如：

　　· √ Rose assured us that she was well, but she might havebeen badly hurt.

　　· X Rose assured us that she was well, but she may havebeen badly hurt.
 

　　02 may as well與might as well

　　兩個短語都表示“不妨;還是...為好”，但might as well的語氣更加委婉。如：

　　· There is nothing to do, so I may as well go to bed. (沒什么事可做，我還是上床睡覺好了。)

　　· Now that they were all there she might as well speak her mind. (既然大家都在，她不妨把想法都談出來。)
 

　　03 可能性的大小不一樣

　　一般來說，may所表達的可能性比might要更大。如：

　　· They may visit Ireland in the near future.

　　這句話說明說話者認為他們還是比較有可能在不久的將來去愛爾蘭的。

　　· The woman looked as if she might have been in her late 40s.

　　這句話說明說話者并沒有什么把握確定這位女士的年齡，只是做了個嘗試性的猜測而已。

　　

 

　　需要注意的是，如果只是做假設性的猜測的話，還是建議多用might。如果是在虛擬語氣中，肯定要用might。如：

　　· If I were Dutch Imightsee immigration differently.

　　· If you go to bed earlier, you might feel better tomorrow.
 

　　04 間接引語中

　　在間接引語中，may要改為might。如：

　　· 直接引語：She said,“I may go out of business."

　　· 間接引語：She said she might go out of business.
 

　　05 當要表達不滿或批評時

　　如果要表示“本可以怎么樣”，以此來表達說話者的不滿或批評時，一般要用might，而不是may。如：

　　· √ You might have told me that she wouldn't be in today!

　　· X You may have told me that she wouldn’t be in today!

　　· √ You'd think theymight be able to understand each other's point of view a bit more.

　　· X You'd think theymay be able to understand each other's point of view a bit more.
 

　　06 禮貌或委婉程度不一樣

　　如果要提出問題、請求或建議時，might比may更加禮貌、委婉。如：

　　· Don't you think you mightbe a little old for him?

　　· MightI ask the Court to glance briefly at the judgment of Sir Harry Gibbs?

　　

 

　　07 當要表達祝愿或希望時

　　may一般常用來表達祝愿或希望，但might不行。如：

　　· √ May you both be very happy.

　　· X Might you both be very happy.
 

　　08 表許可時

　　1、當要征詢許可時，may或might都可以，但是might如今被認為過于正式。而may又比can更顯得有禮貌、更委婉。如：

　　May I borrow your pen? [polite]

　　Might I borrow your pen? [polite and very formal]

　　Can I borrow your pen? [less polite; considered by some to be incorrect usage]

　　2、當要給予或拒絕別人許可時，則只能用may或can，不能用might。如：

　　問題：Can I borrow your pen?

　　回答：

　　√ Yes, you may (borrow my pen). [polite]

　　√ Yes, you can (borrow my pen). [less polite]

　　X Yes, youmight (borrow my pen).

　　√ No, you may not (borrow my pen). [polite]

　　√ No, you can’t (borrow my pen). [less polite]

　　X No, you might not(borrow my pen).

　　

 

　　

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