Grammar rant (non-pedants pls disregard)

[nzraya]

I keep hearing people say, about for example the full-body scanners that The Netherlands is now employing to scan passengers on US-bound flights, that "this technology may have prevented the undie-bomber from ever boarding the plane," etc etc. Every time I hear this, I have to take a minute to go "Bzuh?" and then figure out what they really mean,

Comments

[castalianspring]

Heh, I fear this may be (see what I did there?) another way American English differs from British or Australian English. Pretty sure "may" and "might" are used in much the same way in statements like that over here. I've always heard them used interchangeably.

[nzraya]

....because Americans are IGNORANT BOORS!!! :P

Seriously, though, I think the widespread usage doesn't necessarily indicate anything other than that the usage is widespread. A lot of incorrect usages are extremely widespread: the incorrect use of "begs the question" to mean "raises the question" instead of "attempts to use the premise as proof of itself" is far MORE widespread than the correct usage is, but it's still wrong. In this case, to use "may" and "might" completely interchangeably runs roughshod over the fact that there are two verbs, not one. We wouldn't need two separate forms of the verb if they didn't mean two separate things.

And, more to the point, American sources agree with me:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/may.html
http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/may-might-muddle/

[castalianspring]

True, but as Stephen Fry always says, if it's widespread enough doesn't it make it the new correct thing? ;)

[nzraya]

Dear old Stephen Fry -- he is right about not sweating the small stuff, yet he himself uses the English language with rare precision :D

[sharya]

I have learned more about Grammar from reading lj, than I ever learned in school. Not because I didn't pay attention, but because it was never taught.

Thank you!

[joeymichaels]

I may have no pants on when I read your entries. On the other hand, I might also have no underpants on.

[nzraya]

HOT!

[joeymichaels]

My pants know no proper grammar.

[ficsoreal]

Thanks for sharing. I'll watch out for this in the future.

[lovefromgirl]

I love you. Just so you know. ♥