Brought to you by the letter Y
Today's SPaG peeve, in two parts, one of which is a rerun.
May vs. might. If it's past tense, please, please, please -- the word you want is "might." If you can substitute a past tense verb for the auxiliary+infinitive, you want past tense in the auxiliary, too. Or if the whole story is in past tense, and you're using the auxiliary as a conditional. Examples:
"Someone else among the Order might know. Lupin, for one, had plenty of experience in keeping apart from other wizards."
"So much might have been safe to confess, that he had hidden a desire for Potter's friendship."
If it's present tense overall, then use "may."
"They've met me before, they know I'm Hermione's friend. And you'll be just another classmate as far as they're concerned. They may be Muggles but they're still proud of Hermione's abilities as a witch."
Bestiality. There's only one A in this word. Yes, the word from which it comes is "beast," which has an A after the E, but English is not a logical language.
If English isn't your first language, be assured I'm not talking to you... I'm too impressed that you have the guts to write in another language at all!
ETA: This rant is NOT directed at anyone in particular, and I apologize to anyone who may have thought so.
May vs. might. If it's past tense, please, please, please -- the word you want is "might." If you can substitute a past tense verb for the auxiliary+infinitive, you want past tense in the auxiliary, too. Or if the whole story is in past tense, and you're using the auxiliary as a conditional. Examples:
"Someone else among the Order might know. Lupin, for one, had plenty of experience in keeping apart from other wizards."
"So much might have been safe to confess, that he had hidden a desire for Potter's friendship."
If it's present tense overall, then use "may."
"They've met me before, they know I'm Hermione's friend. And you'll be just another classmate as far as they're concerned. They may be Muggles but they're still proud of Hermione's abilities as a witch."
Bestiality. There's only one A in this word. Yes, the word from which it comes is "beast," which has an A after the E, but English is not a logical language.
If English isn't your first language, be assured I'm not talking to you... I'm too impressed that you have the guts to write in another language at all!
ETA: This rant is NOT directed at anyone in particular, and I apologize to anyone who may have thought so.