May/Might?

[Elaine Margarett]

I'm second guessing myself with this sentence from my synopsis.

He believed more cops may be involved...

This is correct, isn't it? Or is might a better choice?

Thanks!
Elaine, sweating the small stuff...<g>

[Terie]

If you want to be strictly formal, here's the way it works:

Can = ability ('I can use Word.')
May = permissibility ('May I be excused?')
Might = possibility ('He might be the one who did it, but he might not.')

'May' and 'might' have become interchangeable (even according to the dictionary) in the sense of 'possibility', so in informal writing, such as fiction :D, there's no reason to sweat over it.

ETA: For formal writing, such as documentation, I highly recommend going by the strict definitions. This is especially true if the work is to be translated, since the words for 'may' and 'might' aren't necessarily interchangeable in the target language, and using the proper word makes it clear to the translator which one you mean.

[Sirius]

There's a further nuance with "may/might" at least in British English; they represent the difference between "open" and "closed" possibilities. For example, suppose one were discussing a passenger on the Titanic. If you were standing on the New York dockside on 16 April 1912 you might use "He may have been saved" to describe someone who could still be in a lifeboat or have been picked up by another vessel (open possibility) but you would use "He might have been saved if they had carried enough lifeboats" to describe a known casualty.

[Suki M]

How does "He believed cops may have been involved" work for you?

Assuming your entire passage is in the past tense, the involvement of the cops will have to be shown in past perfect tense. That's where the "may have been" comes in.

[bonitakale]

I'm second guessing myself with this sentence from my synopsis.

He believed more cops may be involved...

This is correct, isn't it? Or is might a better choice?

Thanks!
Elaine, sweating the small stuff...<g>

Might. Might, as well as meaning "possibly," is the past of may.

Present tense: John thinks Shannon may have died in the accident.

Past: John thought Shannon might have died in the accident.

[Sirius]

How does "He believed cops may have been involved" work for you?

Assuming your entire passage is in the past tense, the involvement of the cops will have to be shown in past perfect tense. That's where the "may have been" comes in.

Well, did he ever find out whether they were or they weren't? There's a rather technical discussion at Languagelog here:http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1683 but (unless I've got it wrong) the writer prefers "might" for both the simple past ("He knew cops might have been involved" or the closed present "Ropes might have saved Emily") reserving may for the present.

[Elaine Margarett]

Actually, I've rewritten my synopsis and that sentence was cut.

Apprecitate the discussion, though!