“might have thought” vs “would have thought” In the excerpt quoted below from Steven King’s The Shining, I find King’s use of “might have thought” illogical and think he should have written “would hav

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Mikkel

“might have thought” vs “would have thought” In the excerpt quoted below from Steven King’s The Shining, I find King’s use of “might have thought” illogical and think he should have written “would have thought” instead. I want to hear if you agree or disagree with my objection. “The food supplies amazed her but did not reassure her as much as she might have thought: the Donner Party kept recurring to her, not with thoughts of cannibalism (with all this food it would indeed be a long time before they were reduced to such poor rations as each other), but with the reinforced idea that this was..." “Might have thought” means “could have thought”, which means that she didn’t actually think anything. If she didn’t think anything then a comparison can’t be made. How does she know it didn’t reassure her as much as something she didn’t think? It’s impossible. On the other hand it makes sense to say that it didn’t reassure her as much as she “would have thought=”had expected” What do you think? Thanks a lot for your contribution!

2016年10月6日 11:22

回答 · 16

“Might have thought” means “could have thought”.....which means that she didn’t actually think anything. Yes...and no. It doesn't mean that she didn't actually think anything. It just refers to a possible reaction. The sentence is fine and natural. Don't overthink this!

2016年10月6日

No, the language Stephen King uses is correct and natural, and understood easily by a native speaker. It would be understood easily even in speech. Stephen King is sometimes looked down on because he is so successful commercially, but I think he is a very skillful writer who knows how to use English well. Suppose you talked to her before she found the food supplies. Suppose you asked "How will you feel if you find food?" She might have said "I would be very reassured." You ask "On a scale of 1 to 10, how reassured?" She says "9." Even without being asked, she might have thought to herself "it would be very reassuring to find food." I say "she might have thought" because she might or might not have thought about it. Now that she has found the food, she is somewhat reassured. If you ask her "On a scale of 1 to 10, how reassured are you," she says "3." The food supplies did not reassure her as much as she might have thought.

2016年10月6日

I beg to differ on this one. I think Stephen King hasn't been precise enough. I think he should have said: "...as much as she had thought." We are reporting what she had thought before. There is a fact here. For me, "might have + pp" does not work in this situation. Rather, it works when the person is not sure what they did (I might have left the key in the kitchen) or you are speculating about another's thought or actions (You might have wondered why I called you so late last night)

2016年10月7日

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