 Welkins2139 wrote: |
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" might " is a word of degree of certainty. I'd say less than 50%.
in this case, the chance they place such big orders is less than 50% if we dont entertain the buyers.
" will " is a word of degree of cetainty. I'd say about 95%.
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It's true that "might" is sometimes used to express "the less certain":
1. He's coming at 11 o'clock tonight. (The speaker sounds confident.)
2. He might come at 11 o'clock tonight. (The speaker sounds less confident.)
However, "might" is often used to diminish the force of an assertion, for reasons of politeness or deference. In our original sentence, for example, the speaker may simply be putting forward his opinion somewhat nervously or unassumingly – to his manager, maybe, or to someone who knows much more about buttering up clients than he does.
Thus:
3. If X happens, Y might happen.
doesn't necessarily express real uncertainty; it may simply express politeness or deference or "IMHO".
MrP