Re: "May", "can", "might"

[Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us>]

Andrej Ricnik-Bay wrote:
> On 1/31/07, Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us> wrote:
> > Standard English uses "may", "can", and "might" in different ways:
> >
> >         may - permission, "You may borrow my rake."
> >
> >         can - ability, "I can lift that log."
> >
> >         might - possibility, "It might rain today."
> >
> > Unfortunately, in conversational English, their use is often mixed, as
> > in, "You may use this variable to do X", when in fact, "can" is a better
> > choice.  Similarly, "It may crash" is better stated, "It might crash".
> >
> > I would like to clean up our documentation to consistently use these
> > words.  Objections?
> My full support. :}  I like clarity, specially on such important things
> as communication!
> 
> 
> > (Who says were obsessive?)  :-)

Ah, someone already got me with were -> we're.  "Who says we're
obsessive?"  Perfect!

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  Bruce Momjian   bruce(at)momjian(dot)us
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