Question
Updated on
11 Aug 2020
- Simplified Chinese (China)
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
She’s already two hours late. What __ can have happened ____ to her?
Can I use "may have happened" in this answer,why?
She’s already two hours late. What __ can have happened ____ to her?
Can I use "may have happened" in this answer,why?
Can I use "may have happened" in this answer,why?
Answers
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- English (US)
I would say what COULD HAVE happened to her. I don't know why it's correct grammatically.
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- English (US)
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
Yes, the difference between the two will be based on how doubtful you are towards whether something has happened-
Can have happened (可以是發生什麼事了嗎?) - ‘could’ sounds more natural than ‘can’, and here implies you believe something has happened and you are thinking what can have happened. Depends on the intonation, it can also sound like you are blaming her for being late, questioning the reason behind.
May have happened (可能是發生什麼事了嗎) - ‘may’ or ‘might’ both sound natural here, this implies something may or may not have happened and you are taking a guess what may have happened. Comparatively, you are more concerned and genuinely worried in this context.
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- English (US)
@As8964
Saying it that way doesn’t make much sense.
It’s better to say this:
“___ may have already happened to her”
In the “___” area, you’d say what it is you think may have happened.
Hope this helps!
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