may/might confusion

[Douglas Bigham]

I also think the age factor in "may" vs. "might" isn't so clear.  For me,
"may" has never existed outside of a polite form of "can" (yeah, I know may
isn't a FORM of can, still...).  As in "May I go to the bathroom?" vs. "Can I
go to the bathroom."  That's it.  Everywhere else I have "might".  My
roommate, however, (whom I have known since kindergarten, same town, etc.)
makes a hard distinction between "may" and "might" (as well as "can" and
"could", which I'm not sure I do).  She's asleep.  I'll ask the difference
tomorrow.

Then again, "might could" etc. are completely foreign to her, whereas I have
some of them.  I do not have "may can" or "may could", the second sounding
absolutely ridiculous to me.

Incidentally, we were both taught in jr. high that "might" was the past tense
of "may" and that was that.

-dsb
Douglas S. Bigham
Southern Illinois University - Carbondale