情态动词may后接动词不同形式的考题We took what he said literally

问题描述

有这样一道考题：

We took what he said literally, which _______ a mistake.

A. may be                            B. may have been

C. can be                            D. can have been

选项 C 和 D 可以排除，因为情态动词 can 表推测时通常不用于肯定句。但对于 A 和 B 呢？我们应该根据前面的过去式 took 来决定答案应选 B 吗？

老师答疑

刘老师：

1. 答案应选 B：

其根据确实是前面句子中的过去式 took，即根据 took 用的过去式可知，情况发生在过去，这说明后面句子的推测也是针对过去情况作出的，故用“情态动词+完成式”来表示。

2. 句子意思是：

We took what he said literally, which may have been a mistake. 我照字面意思来理解他所说的话，这可能是错的。

3. 类似用法如：

He may have lost his way. 他可能迷路了。

He may have been mistaken about what he saw. 他可能看错了。

She may have been sent to work elsewhere. 她可能被派到别处工作去了。

He may have been there a month ago. 他也许一个星期以前就去过那儿。

The injury may have caused brain damage. 受伤可能造成了脑损伤。

You may have noted that my address has changed. 你也许已经注意到我的地址变了。

I may have hurt your feelings but such was certainly not my intention. 我或许伤害了你的感情，但那绝非我的意图。

He may have missed the train, in which case (=and it that case) she won’t arrive for another hour. 他可能错过火车了，那样的话他就会还要等1个小时才会来。