Could / May / Might

Dearly beloved

I'm wondering about the following sentence:
1. Tom might burn his hands
2. The parrot might not live very long
3. The bottle of wine might break into pieces
4. The dog might bite Tom’s leg
5. The glass might fall on the floor
In my class, I have to explain the difference between could, may, and might. In all sentences, you can also use may, but I'm not sure about could. Especially in numer 2: the parrot couldn't live very long. This changes the whole meaning of the sentence, doesn't it?
Could (not may/might) you help me, please?

Dearly beloved

JTT: We are gathered here today to pass judgement on these sentences. But we shouldn't because it's homework.

I'm wondering about the following sentenceS:
1. Tom might burn his hands

also could and may

2. The parrot might not live very long

is also okay. could be too, with a different verb; "The parrot could die soon", where the meaning is virtually the same.


3. The bottle of wine might break into pieces

may and could are both okay.

4. The dog might bite Tom’s leg

may and could are both okay.

5. The glass might fall on the floor

may and could are both okay.


Vince:
In my class, I have to explain the difference between could, may, and might.


JTT: and express a a range of certainty. For beginners it's helpful to put it on a scale from 1 to 99.9%. Might and may occupy the lower range of the scale, might from 1 to ABOUT 25% and may ABOUT from 26 to 50%.

These numbers are not exact, of course, nor is the dividing line, but they do reflect and illustrate the difference between might and may, with might expressing a weaker degree of certainty than may.

================

Vince:
In all sentences, you can also use may, but I'm not sure about could. Especially in numer 2: the parrot couldn't live very long. This changes the whole meaning of the sentence, doesn't it?

JTT: does NOT express to us a particular range of certainty. All says is "It is possible" and says "It's not possible". We can show a stronger or weaker with changes in intonation.

"That cooooould happen" illustrates a weaker while "That COULD happen" indicates a stronger one.

V: Could (not may/might) you help me, please?

JTT: "Might you help me?" is certainly possible here, Vince but it's not that common as it is REALLY deferential.

Vince,

The reason that the 'parrot' sentence works differently is that it contains the negation "not".

For 'may' and 'might', 'not' negates the proposition, not the modality.
For 'can' and 'could', 'not' negates the modality, not the proposition.

Hence:

The parrot [may / might], i.e. It is possible that the parrot will :

........ live very long.
........ not live very long.

But:

The parrot [could / could not]

........ live very long.

Likewise, where P is the 'possibility operator', ~ signifies 'not', and x = 'you are right':

You [may / might]

........ be right. P
........ not be right. P[~x]

But:

You [could / could not] P / ~P

........ be right.

Note that with "you might not be right" P[~x], being right is still an option for you. With "you could not be right" ~P, being right is not an option for you.

CJ

Hello CJ

The parrot [could / could not] ........ live very long. Likewise, where P is the 'possibility operator', ~ signifies 'not', and x = 'you are right': You [may / might] ........ be right. P ........ not be right. P[~x] But: You [could / could not] P / ~P ........ be right. Note that with "you might not be right" P[~x], being right is still an option for you. With "you could not be right" ~P, being right is not an option for you.

I like this way of explaining. Thank you a lot.

paco

[PS] 'Explaining' was erroneously written as 'explanations' in the original post, which was pointed out kindly by CJ. Thank you CJ.