Permission
127 may used for permission: forms
may for aD persons in the present and future.
might in the conditional and after verbs in a past tense.
Negative: may not/mayn’t, might not/mightn’t
Interrogative: may I? might I? etc.
Negative interrogative: may 1 not/mayn’t I? might I not/mightn’t I? etc.
Other forms are supplied by allow, be allowed.
may is followed by the bare infinitive.
128 can used for permission: forms
can for all persons in the present and future.
could for past and conditional.
Negative: cannot/can’t, could not/couldn’t
Interrogative: can I? could I? etc.
Negative interrogative: can I not/can’t I? could I not/couldn’t I? etc.
Other forms are supplied by allow, be allowed.
can is followed by the bare infinitive.
129 may and can used for permission in the present or future
A First person
I/we can is the most usual form:
/ can take a day off whenever I want. I/we may meaning ’I/we have permission to . . .’ is possible:
/ may leave the office as soon as I have finished. But this is not a very common construction and it would be much more usual to say:
/ can leave/I’m allowed to leave … I/we may/might is a little more usual in indirect speech: .
’You may leave when you’ve finished,’he says/said ”
He says we may leave/He said we might leave :. . But in colloquial speech we wwiiki use can/could:
He says we can leave/He said we could leave.
12 PermiMion and powibility
B Second person
Here may is chiefly used when .the speaker is giving permission. You may park here means ’I give you permission to park’. It does not normally mean ’The police etc. aOow you to park* or ’You have a right to park’.
can can be used as an informal alternative to may here. But it can also be used to express the idea of having permission. You can park ken can mean ’I allow it/The police allow it/You have a right to park here’. Similarly You can take two books home with you can mean ’I aOow it/The library allows it’ and You can 7 eat sandwiches in the library can mean ’I don’t allow it/The librarian doesn’t allow it’ or ’It isn’t the proper thing to do’, could can be used when there is an idea of condition:
Why don’t you ring him? You can/could use my phone. could is also used in indirect speech introduced by a verb in a past tense:
He said I could use his phone.
C Third person
may can be used as in B above when the speaker is giving permission:
He may take my car. (I give him permission to take it.)
They may phone the office and reverse the charges.
G give them permission.)
But it is chiefly used in impersonal statements concerning authority and permission:
In certain circumstances a police officer may (- has the right to) ask
a driver to take a breath test.
If convicted, an accused person may (=• has the right to) appeal.
SCRABBLE RULES: No letter may be moved after it has been played. ^informal English can/can’t would be used:
He can take the car.
They can phone the office.
A police officer can ask a driver. . .
An accused person can appeal.
No letter can be moved. . .
30
m
I
could or was/were allowed to for permission in the past could can also express general permission in the past:
°” Sundays we could (- were allowed to) stay up late. when a particular action was permitted and performed we use was/were allowed instead of could:
/ had a visa so I was allowed to cross the frontier. couldn’t however can be used a little more widely than could:
We couldn’t bring our dog into the restaurant.
1”* opposite of this would be:
We were allowed to bring etc.
128
129
li Vermission and possibility
For perfect tenses and pas^ves allowed must be used: Since Jus accident he hasn ’t been allowed to drive. As a child he had been allowed to da exactly what he liked.
(For might/could in indirect speech, see 129 A.)
1 Requests for permission (see also 283)
A can I?, could I?, may I?, might I? are all possible and can be used
for the present or future, can I? is the most informal.
could I? is the most generally useful of the four, as it can express both
formal and informal requests.
may I? is a little more formal than could 1? but can also be used for
both types of requests.
might I? is more diffident than may I? and indicates greater uncertainty about the answer.
B The negative interrogative forms can’t I? and couldn’t I? are used to show that the speaker hopes for an affirmative answer:
Can’t I stay up till the end of the programme?
Couldn ’t I pay by cheque? may and might are not used in this way.
C Answers to can I/could I requests will normally be:
Yes, you can. Yes, of course (you can). No, you can’t.
Affirmative answers to may I/might I requests are normally: Yes, you may. Yes, of course (you may).
For a negative answer No, you may not is possible but it would normally
be replaced by a milder expression:
I’d rather you didn ’t. I’m afraid not.
D Questions about permission are expressed by can or am/is/are
allowed to in the present and by could or was/were allowed to in
the past: ’
Can Tom use the car whenever he likes?
Is Tom allowed to use the car . . . ?
Could students choose what they wanted to study?
Were students allowed to choose . . . ?
Possibility
132 may/might for possibility
A Form
may/might for present and future.
might in the conditional and after verbs in the past tense.
Negative: may not/mayn’t, might not/mightn’t
Interrogative: see E below
Infinitive: to be + likely
130
12 Permission and possibility
B may/might + present infinitive can express possibility in the present or future:
He may/might tell his wife. (Perhaps he tells/will tell his wife.)
He may/might emigrate. (Perhaps he will emigrate.)
Ann may/might know Tom’s address. (Perhaps Ann knows etc.) Similarly with the continuous infinitive:
He may/might be waiting at the station. (Perhaps he is waiting at
the station.)
He may/might be waiting at the station when we arrive. (Perhaps he
will be waiting etc.)
C may or might for present or future possibility
Normally either can be used, might slightly increases the doubt.
Note that in speech we can also indicate increased doubt by stressing may/might. Tom tmay lend you the money (with a strong stress on may) implies that this is not very likely. Tom tmight lend you the money (with a strong stress on might) implies ’I don’t think this is at all likely/ I think it is unlikely’.
D might must be used in the conditional and when the expression is introduced by a verb in the past tense: // lyou invited him he might come. I knew we might have to wait at the frontier. He said he might hire a car. (indirect speech)
E may/might in the negative and interrogative The negative presents no problems:
He may/might not believe your story. (Perhaps he won’t/doesn’t
believe your story.)
The interrogative is normally expressed by do you think? or a construction with be + likely:
Do you think he’s alone?
Do you think he believes your story?
Is it likely that the plane will be late?
Is the plane likely to be lap?
may? for possibility very seldom introduces a sentence. It may be placed later on:
When may we expect you?
What may be the result of the new tax? But a construction with be + likely or think is more usual:
When are you likely to arrive?
What do you think the result will be? might? is just possible:
Might they be waiting outside the station?
But Could they be waiting? or Do you think they are waiting? would be more usual (see 134). may/might in the affirmative, however, can form part of a question:
Do you think he may/might not be able to pay? (See 104 for this type of question.)
131
A Th ’s ust^in sPecu’at’ons about past actions: ^^^^^^^^^^^1
Perhaf ^e wen^as Sone’cht mi/ ^e use£*’ as snown ’n 132 D, when the main verb is in a
He sa/^0^1 t^at s^e m*&nt nave missed tne plant. mioht no’ ”^ • must ** usec’ wnen ’he uncertainty no longer exists:
tie caf *>ome a^one- Y°u should”’’ have let him do that; he might
have/lost” ^ut he didn l get lost^ So ’ the s£ntence:
,, Mldn ’t have drunk the wine: it may/might have been drugged
. . . I may have been drugged would indicate that we are still
rtain >ifiel’ier ’l was drugged or not. it might have been drugged Id have1^ same mean’n8 DUt coM also mean that we know it wasn’t drulgec^ ’cht no|inay’ ’s a’so use(’ w^en l^e matter was never Put to tne
’Perhaf ue s^ou^ have taken the other road. It might have been
,.. tod thing you didn ’t lend him the money. You might never
have/ ltt>ackSe t nce-^ th’s *””<* are very s’m^ar to tne t*”r<’ ty’P* of conditional
,.^, ,id taken the other road we might have arrived earlier.
n /~-«»i can be used in conditional sentences instead of will/would
B may/migp .
. ,4 -,.„! possible instead of a certain result:
’tO inQK-dlt rt . , . ,
If he j|fi •y’n< *” s P’ (certam’ If he )’M you ^e may s’°^’ (P055’^’6)
Similarly: „•.-,, . . r>- toured hot water into it, it might crack and ;/ you’ . . „ . . . , . , .
Jfyou (See 223(
iad /^ it 1here someone might have stolen it.
34 could as1” ^en”1^6 to may/might A id bet”1 ** used instead of may/might be:
C°U / wJr where Tom ”’ ~ W* rnay/might/could be in OH library.
,p ^s he is in the library.) S milarlv »’en *** IS P311 °^ ^ c0”1”1110118 infinitive:
/ Jo/ ^ fl’W ”” ’ **”’ ~ **’ ”My/might/coi’la’ still be mating for a^’ ^ernaPs ^ ^ st^ waiting for a bus.) AnH when*6 *s ’Mrt °’a P258^* infinitive:
Do y t*lrt* ’** ^aw* **// **”” ftm’-:> ~.Idon’t knm°-Jt ***/
• gwld be delayed by fog. (Perhaps it will be delayed by fog.)
132
B
12 Permission and possibility
In the interrogative we can use either could or might:
Might/Could he be waiting for us at the station? (Do you think he is
waiting . . . ?)
In the negative, though, there is a difference of meaning between could and may/might:
He may/might not be driving the car himself. (Perhaps he isn’t
driving the car himself.)
But He couldn’t be driving the car himself expresses a negative deduct! n. It means This is impossible. He can’t drive1.
could + the perfect infinitive ot any verb can be used instead of may/might + perfect infinitive (possibility):
/ wonder how Tom knew about Ann ’$ engagement. ~
He may/might/could have heard it from Jack. (Perhaps he heard
it from Jack.) As in A above, in the interrogative we can use might or could:
Could/Might the bank have made a mistake? (Do you think it is
possible that the bank (has) made a mistake?) But in the negative the meanings differ:
Ann might not have seen Tom yesterday (perhaps she didn’t see
him) but
Ann couldn ’t have seen Tom yesterday, (negative deduction:
perhaps Ann and Tom were in different towns)
135 can used to express possibility A General possibility
Subject 4- can can mean ’it is possible’, i.e. circumstances permit (this is quite different from the kind of possibility expressed by may): You can ski on the hills. (There is enough snow.) We can’t bathe here on account of the sharks. (It isn’t safe.) Can you get to the top of the mountain in one day? (Is it possible?)
B can can also express occasional possibility:
Measles can be quite dangerous. (Sometimes it is possible for them to be quite dangerous/Sometimes they are quite dangerous.) The Straits of Dover can be very rough. (It is possible for the Straits to be rough; this sometimes happens.)
could is used in the past:
He could be very unreasonable. (Sometimes he was unreasonable; this was a possibility.)
can is used in this way in the present or past tense only, and chiefly in
the affirmative.
B
133