I am helping someone do the grammar exercises and while
doing the exercises for the usage of "may/might" we came
across the following:
In the lesson it was explained that the past of 'may/might be'
is 'may/might have been'.
Use the words in the brackets and MAY or MIGHT.
I can't find John anywhere. I wonder where he is.
The answer is - He MIGHT HAVE GONE shopping.
So the student asked me if it does not mean it is in the past
(since 'might have been/gone' is used for the past).
I tried to explain it a couple of ways but I am not
sure if my explanation is correct. I would, therefore,
appreciate if someone could tell me if I am on the right track.
I tried to explain it like this:
You can think of it like this:
A: I can't find John anywhere. do you know where he is?
B: Yes. He HAS GONE shopping.
(here, B knows where John is.)
A: I can't find John anywhere. I wonder where he is.
B: I'm not sure. He MIGHT HAVE GONE shopping.
(here, B is not sure. He is using 'MIGHT' to indicate that it is a
possibility that John has gone shopping).
But this still does not address the question about if this is
not really talking about past. So I tried this:
We cannot say 'may be GOING out' because he has already left.
In that sense, it is a PAST tense. But the meaning of it is about
where she is NOW.
Any input would be appreciated.