might go bad vs. might have gone bad

[유진승]

Thank you for your explanation, Bboy. May I add a word about the difference between the two expressions? I think that"s what Shannon is very curious about as well--why use perfective tense instead of simple future?

Using the perfective tense adds the tone of completion/ result. In this case, what we have learned in school as meanings of the perfective tense (경험, 계속, 완료) is very useful.

Hence, the simple future "might go bad" simply refers to the event of something turning bad, whereas "might have gone bad" focuses on the state resulting from the completion of this event--the state where the cake has turned bad.

Luckily, in this case Korean provides a way of distinguishing these tones: the simple future can be translated as "케익이 상할텐데" and the perfect tense as "케익이 상해 있을텐데", which similarly moves the focus to the resulting state.

So your example and translation was a very good illustration of this difference:

By the end of this year I might have saved some money. (Practical English Usage by Swan)

-올해 말쯤이면 돈 좀 모여 있을 거야.

By the way, have you tried using the corpus yet?

[Shannon]

I'm glad to pick up one more. Thanks. So, if you'd like to focus a little more on the result rather than the process of a certain event, you'd better use the perfective tense. Now, I want to try a sentence. Do CRing please.^^

[Shannon]

'My English skill might have been much better in several years thanks to superb teachers of this cafe.' And I intended to highlight the hopeful result : being far better than now.^^ How does this sound ?

[Bboy]

Dear Mr.Eu: I appreciate your addendum. I missed that point./ Yes, I've been using the corpus,but it was outside my time slot when I worked on Shannon's question. Actually, since I often stay up these days, I've been wondering if any other teacher's asked for hours between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. If not,

[Bboy]

may I? ^^; I know, of course, that I should give it back to you right away when someone else needs those hours.

[유진승]

Dear Shannon. The sentence sounds a bit unusual, primarily because there is no clear indication of the tense. Remember that "might have been" can mean either a past event or future event, and what determines this is the tense indicated by the adverbial phrase. For instance, "by tomorrow" clearly

[유진승]

indicates the future, but "in several years" (수 년 만에) could mean either past or future. / Another thing is the choice of "been". In this case, "might have become" or "might have gotten" is better.

[유진승]

Dear Bboy: Do keep in mind that you can certainly use the corpus outside your time, provided no one else is on it already. You will be able to see it when you attempt a log in--if someone is on or not. I offered that zone to hyunook, but you can certainly talk to him and work it out with him.

[유진승]

In all, what you want to say can be expressed simply and more naturally by saying "My English MIGHT BE much better in several years...", because "be" is already a verb that expresses a STATE. ^^