It seems it's time for an English lesson. I think we can all learn something from this - especially Speakpigeon.
Let's compare two dictionaries from opposite sides of the ditch, on the definitions of "may" and "might".
may
Oxford English Dictionary (OED): The OED notes that "may" is a
modal verb. As its first two meanings, the OED gives:
1. Expressing possibility (e.g. "That may be true.")
2. Used to ask for or give permission (e.g. "May I ask a few questions?")
Mirriam-Webster (MW) gives the following primary meanings:
1a. (
archaic) have the ability to.
1b. Have permission to; be free to.
1c. Used to indicate possibility or probability.
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Notice at this point that the OED says nothing about whether the probability is high or low or in between when using "may" to indicate possibility or (in the case of MW) probability.
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might
OED:
1. past tense of "may".
1.1 Used in reported speech, to express possibility or permission.
‘he said he might be late’
1.2 Expressing a possibility based on an unfulfilled condition.
'we might have won if we'd played better’
1.3 Expressing annoyance about something that someone has not done.
‘you might have told me!’
1.4 Expressing purpose.
‘he avoided social engagements so that he might work’
2. Used tentatively to ask permission or to express a polite request.
‘might I just ask one question?’
‘you might just call me Jane, if you don't mind’
2.1 Asking for information, especially condescendingly.
‘and who might you be?’
3 Used to express possibility or make a suggestion.
‘this might be true’
‘you might try pain relievers
MW:
past tense of may.
1 —used to express permission, liberty, probability, or possibility in the past
'The president might do nothing without the board's consent."
2 —used to say that something is possible
We might get there before it rains.
I might go, but then again, I might not.
3 —used to express a present condition contrary to fact
If you were older you might understand.
4a —used as a polite alternative to may
Might I ask who is calling?
b —used as a polite alternative to ought or should
You might at least apologize.
I might have known she'd be late.
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Notice that neither dictionary says anything about a low probability being attached to "might".
Notice also that both the OED and MW give the primary definition of "might" as the "past tense of 'may'".
Thus (and these are my examples now):
'I may go to the football today.'
'I might have gone to the football yesterday.'
'He says he may be late for the meeting this afternoon.'
'He said he might be late for yesterday's meeting.'
However, both dictionaries also recognise that most people
don't follow the "rule" that "might" is only to be used to refer to past events. In practice these days, many people use "might" interchangeably with "may", to express present possibility.
The OED has a helpful explanatory article on when to use "may" vs "might", and how they
are used. It can be found
here. Quoting that article:
"In practice, this distinction [between present-tense and past tense use of 'may' and 'might'] is rarely made today and the two words are generally interchangeable:
I might go home early if I’m tired. He may have visited Italy before settling in Nuremberg."
The OED does note one exception to this interchangeability, concerning events in the past that were possible at the time but did not actually occur:
"But there is a distinction between
may have and
might have in certain contexts. If the truth of a situation is still not known at the time of speaking or writing, either of the two is acceptable:
By the time you read this, he may have made his decision. I think that comment might have offended some people.
If the event or situation referred to did
not in fact occur, it's better to use
might have:
The draw against Italy might have been a turning point, but it didn't turn out like that."
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In this context, let us compare Speakpigeon's preferred usage of "may" and "might" with mine. Here's Speakpigeon:
Speakpigeon said:
Nobody use "may" to mean "might". People use "may" to signal possibility and "might" to signal possibility with a low probability.
Clearly, Speakpigeon is wrong to say that "nobody" uses "may" to mean "might"
, because, as both dictionaries agree, in current general usage the words are interchangeable. According to the dictionaries cited, Speakpigeon is also wrong to say that "might" signals a low probability. Since it is largely interchangeable with "may", it merely signals possibility, with no particular estimate of probability. Neither dictionary makes any mention of a level of probability in the definition of either word, although interestingly the MW does list both "possibility" and "probability" in the definitions whereas the OED mentions only "possibility".
What this means, of course, is that for the purposes of the current thread, whether any given poster uses "may" or "might" to refer to possibility is irrelevant, since the two words are effectively interchangeable in the context of Speakpigeon's "logical proof".
As for my position, I said I prefer to use "may" in the sense of permission, and "might" to indicate possibility. The OED has a separate article on the proper usage of "can" vs "may", highlighting the difference between ability and permission. I won't post that here, since it is not really relevant to the thread topic, and the matter is explored sufficiently by arfa brane anyway, just above this post.
It is clear that my personal usage of the words "may" and "might" is not inconsistent with the usage of those words given in both of the quoted dictionaries, whereas Speakpigeon's usage - and his insistence on how "everybody" uses the two words - is inconsistent with both of those sources.
Having said that, because I have learned from my research on this topic, from now on I will probably make a few little changes in how I personally use those two words, though not in a way that makes any difference to the discussion in this thread.
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Here endeth the lesson.
