Re: Need a term here:

Robert Lieblich wrote:
[...]
> Lest there be any doubt about what I mean when I bring up sequence
of
> tenses with respect to "may" and "might," here's an example that
may
> [might] help: "I told him that I may attend last Friday's party."
> Anyone whose nose doesn't turn up at the sight of that one is one
of
> those leading the "may" invasion I referred to. It's probably too
> late to rescue the usage, but I at least won't go quietly.

Damn' right! And when it appears in BBC news reports, I'm a lot less
quiet than usual. This error -- and it is an error, not a matter of
style -- can often disguise meaning. I used to treasure, but have now
half forgotten, an admirable example from Evans-Pritchard: "The
passage might have been written by X, and indeed it may have been."

--
Mike.


.

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