May versus Might: A grammar lesson on modals

By popular demand! From Dad, you get farm updates. From Mom, it's grammar lessons!

Here goes. I have evidently made Dad insecure by pointing out to him offline that there was a grammar error in his Red Sox post entitled "No Joy in Mudville." I told him that, in the sentence below, he should have used the word might instead of may.

If Schilling and Foulke had been healthy it may have been different.

OK, class, why is this wrong? Now, now, don't all shout out at once. Raise your hands . . . Right! The reason that might should have been used is that there is no longer any doubt. We know how things turned out. Schilling and Foulke weren't healthy, the season's over now, and it's too late to change anything. So, the correct word is might and not may.

Here's why. May and might are "modal" verbs, used to express shades of possibility. In the present tense, there is little or no difference between them, and either one can usually be used correctly. For instance:

I may go grocery shopping later. I might stop at Wal-Mart while I'm out.

Both of these sentences are correct. As used here, there is actually a subtle difference between them -- the first sentence suggests a possibility that is a bit more likely than the possibility suggested by the second sentence. May indicates that it's possible that the speaker will go grocery shopping. Might indicates that it's also possible, but a little bit less likely, that during the trip, she'll also stop at Wal-Mart. But this difference is minor, and in practice, the two words are used interchangeably.

In the past tense, on the other hand, may and might are not interchangeable at all. They carry distinctly different meanings, and this difference is what sometimes causes Mom to shout at sports broadcasters on TV. May is used to describe a possibility in the past about which there is still doubt. Might is for possible past outcomes that we now know did not happen. So:

The battle was so intense that Private Jones was lucky to survive it. He might have been killed. Private Smith, on the other hand, is still missing in action. We hope that he is all right, but he may have been killed.

See the difference? Both Jones and Smith were in danger, but we now know that Jones is okay. We still aren't sure about Smith -- he could be alive, or he could be dead. So, for Smith, we use may. For Jones, who is safe, it's might.

Some more examples, with the first two sentences in the past tense, and the second two sentences in the present tense:

I am angry with myself for failing last week's grammar test. If I had studied harder, I might have passed it. I studied much more carefully for yesterday's test. I am not sure yet, but I think I may have passed this time. The grades may (or might) be ready by now. I might (or may) stop by the classroom later to ask Mrs. Grundy how I did.

(A side note: May, used in the present tense, also carries a second meaning of ability, as opposed to possibility, with an overtone of permission. Thus: Mother, may I leave now? Yes, you may go, but not until I have finished this lecture about grammar. Here, may indicates both the ability to go, and permission to do so. In the present tense, might does not have this additional meaning. That brings us to this sentence of Dad's, from his long-awaited Farm Update:

You may (might?) submit names for heifer calves anytime.

This sentence is not about possibility -- it's about ability and permission. Dad is saying, with no doubt, that anyone can submit names, and that he grants permission to everyone to do so. May, here, is the correct word. Might would be wrong unless Dad wanted to change his meaning to add the layer of doubt and possibility that might conveys: I know that it's hard to think of heifer names, but if you can think of any, you might want to submit a few. )

So, now, a quiz! Some of the following statements are grammatical; others are dead wrong. The first person to post the correct answers in the comments gets an A.

1. If Dave Roberts had not stolen second base in last year's ALCS, the Red Sox may not have gone on to win the World Series.

2. If Dad had not happened to see "Flight of the Conchords" on HBO, this family might never have started making jokes about racist dragons and sick monkeys and big fat crazy pictures of New York.

3. It's a good thing that Panda chased those sheep and got himself banished from Virginia. If he hadn't done that, we may never have gotten a dog.

4. The summer drought made a big difference in the cows' productivity. If only it had rained sooner, they may have made more milk.

5. (From one of Dad's Red Sox posts. Extra credit if you can spot an error unrelated to may and might.) Pedroia can back up, or be the regular if Graffy can't be signed. He may be kinda hot now that we "discovered" him.

6. Did you check the family blog yet? I haven't had time to look at it yet today, but from all the excitement in the streets, I think Dad may have posted a new farm update!

7. Nobody has posted song # 73 yet. That may mean that we are running out of songs, or it might mean nothing.

8. If Dad had not posted "I am sixteen going on seventeen" in the first place, the whole song project might never have gotten started.

9. On the other hand, just think how terrible it would have been if we had not started the song project. In that case, you may never have heard that unforgettable recording of "Ayy Wah Doopah! Ayy Wah Doopah!"

10. If I hear the words may and might used incorrectly one more time, I may scream.

Farm Update!

By popular demand.

So, the late summer heat and drought nearly killed the pasture season. The cows were in at night, being fed valuable winter feed. It was a low point. But then came hurricane Katrina, bringing rain to the northeast, and the pastures recovered to a surprising degree. I've been able to keep the cows out on pasture during the day, and should be able to continue doing so until the end of the month.
But it has been difficult to maintain production at a comfortable level due to the changing of the diet between hay and pasture. When it was so dry it looked as if good hay would be hard to find this winter. So I put a together a concentrate that included heavy amounts of high fiber by-product feeds such as citrus pulp and soy hulls, the idea being that these ingredients function more as a forage than a grain, thus stretching the hay supply. Turns out that very nice hay is readily available. So I am removing some of these high-fiber ingredients and replacing them with starches and sugars. I expect to see a production boost this weekend when I start the new concentrate.
Haven't had any babies born in a month, and we're still at 99 Jerseys on the farm. Bazooms, Java and Toot are due in a week. You may (might?) submit names for heifer calves anytime. Bull calves don't get a name. Blossom and Buffy are due in Novemeber.
I have purposefully not bred any cows or heifers for the last 5 weeks and won't until November 1 for a variety of reasons. One, to give us a vacation from calving next june and July. Two, to reduce our dependence on a successful pasture season (i.e., enough rain at the right time). Three, to take advantage of higher fall milk prices. We'll see how it works out.
We had some fun a couple of weeks ago when Mom and I went four-wheeling, she on my ATV and me on Jeremy's. We went down on the nature trail and up through the woods with Panda running along with us. You have not beheld beauty until you've seen Mom driving an ATV. What fun!

Some people I hung out with when I was Growing Up

Where I grew up

296 Bridge Rd. Florence, Ma.

Cartoon

Need a job? Don't go to Europe!

http://www.tomasinmorgan.com/columns.htm?artmode=items&id=155&offset=0&catid=1&catoffset=0

Thanks for waiting!

Thank you for all the emails literally clamoring for a new Farm Update. It's been in the back of my mind for weeks, but I've been unable to get around to it. Also, I've been unable to get around to answering your emails, but rest assured that I have read each and every one. The only way I could reply to all of them would be to hire an assistant, and then, of course, you lose the personal touch. And who wants that? Yeah, me, either.

I will do a Farm Update in ten days or so. I'm planning on making a feed change this weekend. I'm sure you'll be fascinated by the results.

In the meantime, Joy and Polka are doing okay with their dislocated hips. They hobble out to 1L every day while the rest of the cows go to further pastures. I became quite concerned that they were in too much pain, so I asked them if they would prefer to stay around and milk as long as they were able, or would they like to go to the slaughterhouse. They said, "What's
the slaughterhouse?" And I said, "You know, go for beef." And they said, "What's beef?" And I said, "It's what's for dinner." And they said, "We thought we were having alfalfa for dinner." At this point, I decided to drop the subject, figuring that they would find out soon enough. But this morning they asked me why I hadn't bred them back. I told them that curiosity killed the cat. They said, "Oh NO! Which one?" At this, I fled.

Farm Update soon!

AYY WAH DOOPAH, AYY WAH DOOPAH

I discovered this too late to add it to comment # 56 below, but you really shouldn't miss it. To hear song #56, even though it's a little scary, click this link.

No Joy in Mudville

The mighty Red Sox have struck out. They got cold just when they needed to get hot. Still, playoffs three years in a row along with World champions one of those years is nothing to scoff at. If Schilling and Foulke had been healthy it may have been different.

C'est la vie.

Next year: Sign Mueller for a couple more years at not too much money if possible. Leave him at third. Put Youkilis at first. Let Millar and Olerud walk, but thank them for their contributions. I'll miss Millar's friendliness. He's a good teammate. Sign Graffy for two years at not too much money,. if possible. Pedroia can back up, or be the regular if Graffy can't be signed. He may be kinda hot now that we "discovered" him. SS-Renteria. He should be better next year a la ARod. Catchers are set. RF-Nixon is set. CF-Damon worries me with his shoulder, etc. I'd love to get Rocko Baldelli. No long term contract for Damon. LF-I hope Manny stays. He is so unlike any other. But, if he wants to go, get rid of him for value. DH-set.

Pitchers, starting: Pick from Wakefield, Arroyo, Wells, Schilling, Clement, Papelbon, Alvarez, Lester, Dinardo, Meredith, Hansen. Go with the youth. Let the 40 yo guys wither on somebody else's vine.

Pitchers, relieving: Pick from Papelbon, Dinardo, Delcarmen, Resign Timlin? Resign Myers? Foulke comes back? Not sure I like Foulke. I guess I'd like him better if he could pitch.

Please no more end-of-career guys like Wells, Schilling, R. Johnson. I'd rather watch the young ones lose than the old ones struggle to win.

An Elementary Economic Lesson

http://www.techcentralstation.com/100705D.html

"If Bill O'Reilly and government officials itching for price controls and tax increases get their way, repeating the mistakes of the 1970s, we'll get no more investment in energy production, and that will guarantee one thing -- higher prices for energy in the future."