[misc] Thunderclap #3 - Mistakes

[Martin Phipps]

rickhindle at gmail.com wrote:

> The blades slashed around him as he came down, but I rolled to the
> side, avoiding them.  After I heard the air crackle around the energy
> swords, I realized that I may have bitten off more then I can chew.

That last bit should be "I realized that I might have bitten off more
then I could chew."

Really.  Observe:

"When I was a boy I can swim." X
"When I was a boy I could swim."

"We thought we may go to McDonalds." X
"We thought we might go to McDonalds."

"Could" is the past tense of "can".
"Might" is the past tense of "may".

Surprised?

Incidentally, "would" is the past tense of "will" and "should" is the
past tense of "shall".

"You said you will be here at 6:00." X
"You said you would be here at 6:00."

"He asked if we shall eat at KFC." X
"He asked if we should eat at KFC."

You can tell from the context when these words are being used to refer
to the past.

Anyway, interesting.  Presumably, Thunderclap will be facing his
father's old nemises and, in which case, he's going up against people
20-30 years older than he is.  He should be able to turn this to his
advantage.  I mean, eventually, he'll be faced with villains who are
threatening him from their wheelchairs. :)

Martin