I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

Star light, star bright,

First star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight.

—Old English nursery rhyme

“What is the difference between ‘may’ and ‘might’?” Flora M. asks Ms. Picky.

It seems like a simple question, but there is actually more than one answer—and one of them is not so simple.

The first distinction between the two words lies in the degree of probability one is expressing: “Might” expresses a greater degree of unlikelihood than “may,” such as is expressed in the following sentences:

He may leave his job on Wall St. and become a painter.

Right. And I might go to the moon.

But Ms. Picky suspects Flora has some vague ancestral memory of there being more to it than that, or she would not have asked in the first place, and so we shall continue. First, however, a little background is in order, about mood, in English verbs.

Mood

In the English language, awareness of the “mood” of verbs (also known as the “mode”) is a refinement that is often considered quaint and archaic. Even those who use the correct modal form seem to do it instinctively and often cannot explain or defend it. It’s a complex subject, but we will try to give a condensed version.

There are four moods, or modes, in the English verb forms: indicative, interrogative, imperative, and subjunctive.

Indicative Mood:

His train arrives at 12:05.

Indicative is the mood used most frequently, in declarative sentences, such as the one above.

Interrogative Mood:

What time does his train arrive?

Interrogative is the mood used in asking a question.

Imperative Mood:

Go to meet his train now, or you’ll be late!

Imperative is the command form of a verb, and the subject of an imperative verb form is understood to be “you.” (If you have trouble remembering this form, think of the word “imperial,” the adjectival form of “emperor”; emperors command.)

Subjunctive Mood:

I wish I were meeting his train.

Subjunctive is the hypothetical form of the verb that expresses a situation that is contrary to fact.

Mandative Subjunctive Mood:

“Mandative subjunctive” (“mandative,” from the word “mandate”) is a subcategory of subjunctive, an example of which is expressed in a sentence like this:

I asked that she meet his train.

or

The police asked that he be detained.

or (to come back to Flora’s original question about “might” and “may”):

1. I request that I might be heard.

2. I ask only that I might have the same opportunity.

In the usage in sentences one and two, above, “may” cannot be substituted for “might”; only “might” can do the job and is the form called for in this particular structure, the “mandative subjunctive.”

And so, F. M., in this situation, there is a an important distinction between “may” and “might.”  In the case of the first, simple, use, the distinction between the two words  is one that expresses a degree of unlikelihood that is arguable and subjective, and one might, in many selections, defend the use of either word. 


But in the case of the mandative subjunctive, only “might” can do the job.

_________

Journalism Wall of Shame

The Journalism Wall of Shame displays errors in grammar, punctuation, or language that have appeared recently in the press. Submissions are welcome. Please include the publication's name and date, the story title, and the reporter's name. The publication of these errors in no way places blame for them on a particular person. Sometimes it is the reporter, sometimes the editor, sometimes the headline writer, but—somewhere in the system—somebody should have known better.

“I’m loathe [sic] to start a tedious Mac vs. PC flame war. . . .” 

— “Steve Jobs’s Worst Design Decisions?,” Christopher Shea, www.wsj.com, August 29, 2011.

What Mr. Shea should have said was that he was loath to start a war. “Loath” is an adjective meaning reluctant, but “loathe” is a verb, meaning hate.

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