Re: "May", "can", "might"

On 1/31/07, Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us> wrote:
> Standard English uses "may", "can", and "might" in different ways:
>
> may - permission, "You may borrow my rake."
>
> can - ability, "I can lift that log."
>
> might - possibility, "It might rain today."
>
> Unfortunately, in conversational English, their use is often mixed, as
> in, "You may use this variable to do X", when in fact, "can" is a better
> choice. Similarly, "It may crash" is better stated, "It might crash".
>
> I would like to clean up our documentation to consistently use these
> words. Objections?
My full support. :} I like clarity, specially on such important things
as communication!

> (Who says were obsessive?) :-)