问英语
原书主词条 · 2 个连续词条

may have done/might have done

原书 PDF 第 888 页

may have done/might have done1

问

He ____ you more help, even though he was very busy. A. might have given B. might give C. may have given D. may give(全国高考,90-26) 标准答案为 A。但是我认为 C(may have given) 也是同样正确的。不知我的说法对否？

答

may have done 与 might have done 都表示推测过去可能发生的事情，在这一点上，它们是同义的：

  1. He may (might) have missed the train. (CGEL) 他可能没有赶上火车。

  2. Before giving up completely, let's look at the register. Someone may have changed his reservation. Yes, here's a telegram... You can have this gentleman's room for tonight. (Nelson, 300A) 暂时不要完全放弃，让我们先来看看登记簿。也许有人更改了预约。是啊，这有一封电报……你今天晚上可以住在这位先生预定的房间里。

  3. I think my grandfather may have left me a message at the Mona Lisa—some kind of clue as to who killed him. Or why I'm in danger. Or what happened to my family. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 我想祖父在《蒙娜丽莎》那里给我留下了信息——关于杀人凶手的信息，或是能解释为什么我处境危险的信息，或是关于我家庭的信息。（《达·芬奇密码》）

下面的英语试题是更有力的证明：

  1. You ____ John Marshall last year when you were in England. He is over two metres tall. A. can have met B. may have met C. can meet D. may meet (Nelson, 250A)

  2. Mary is very late. She ____. A. may miss her train B. may have missed her train C. must miss her train D. could miss her train

但是, might have done 还可表示“本该做而实际上并没有做”的意思。因此, 根据上面试题的语意, 应该选 A(might have given), 而不应该选 C(may have given)。参见 might 8−11^{8-11} 。

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-5.md · 6327—6351 行PDF：第 888 页 · may have done/might have done ¹

may have done/might have done2

问

Yes, that's possible, but we can't be sure. Something may have happened to her. She might have had an accident.

上句中的 may have happened 与 might have had 这两种结构在表意上有无区别？

答

在上面的两个句子里 may have done 与 might have done 都表示现在对过去可能发生某事的推测。其中的 might 并不表示过去时间。它们基本含义是一样的，都可译为“可能”“或许”。如果说它们之间有什么区别的话，那就是 might 对推测的把握性比 may 更小一些。请分析：

  1. You may have noticed something while you were doing this task. 在你回答上述问题的时候,你也许注意到了一个问题。

  2. He may/might have gone. 他可能(已经)走了。

  3. He may/might not have received the letter. 他可能没有收到那封信。

但是, might have done 除了表示上述含义之外, 还可表示“推测过去有可能发生但已确知并未发生的事情”。may have done 不能用于此种含义。见上条, might 8−11^{8-11} 。

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-5.md · 6352—6367 行PDF：第 888 页 · may have done/might have done ²