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may / might hypothèse > énonciation première

might présupposition

can / could hypothèse / présupposition

The Guardian        Rise        p. 5        4.2.2006

Cette publicité comprend quatre occurrences de can :

1    Valeur de potentiel, capacité, compétence (présent) :

I can oversee.

2 - 3 - 4    Valeur hypothétique (conditionnel en français) :

but I couldn't manage - If you think you could - Could you?

The Guardian        Society        p. 8        10 December 2008
http://digital.guardian.co.uk/guardian/2008/12/10/pdfs/gdn_081210_so1_8_21413445.pdf

The Guardian        p. 11        15.2.2007

Rex Morgan

Woody Wilson and Graham Nolan        Created in 1948 by Nicholas P. Dallis        20.5.2005
http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/rmorgan/about.htm

It might have seemed unlikely that Mr. Mohsen, the founder of a San Jose company called Aptix Corporation, would try to hire a hit man to kill a federal judge who presided over a patent-infringement case. But, as a result of that civil case, Mr. Mohsen was in jail facing multiple charges of conspiracy to commit perjury and obstruct justice. And, according to the government, he did indeed solicit a fellow inmate to kill the judge - although he quibbled at the asking price of $25,000, saying he considered $10,000 more reasonable.

The inmate, an informant, caught the conversation on tape.

"So, now, what would you want?" the informant asked Mr. Mohsen, according to a tape transcript Mr. Mohsen's lawyer provided. "He could be shot. He could be knifed. He could be blown up or it could look like, maybe a gas leak in his house or what?"

Mr. Mohsen asked the man which approach would be "the least traceable," and though he expressed some discomfort with the idea of killing a judge, he ordered the informant to track the judge's movements.

"I wouldn't want to do it at the courthouse," he said. "Get him when he's driving around. I'm sure he goes to a golf course or something."

When Mr. Mohsen pleaded not guilty last summer to 23 criminal counts including solicitation to murder a federal judge, the case had to be assigned to a judge in Sacramento because the entire San Francisco bench recused itself from the case.

    In Courts, Threats Become Alarming Fact of Life, NYT, 20.3.2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/national/20judges.html

Scouring the internet may not sound [ première étape discursive ]

as romantic as wooing your future partner with candlelight and champagne

but it could be [ reprise de may en could, hypothèse présupposante ]

much more effective, research suggests.

As a result, many couples sitting down tonight to enjoy Valentine's night

might well have met [ renforcement de la présupposition, par might et well ]

in cyberspace.

    Forget champagne, online chat is the way to woo, G, first §§, 14.2.2005,
    http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/valentinesday/story/0,11526,1412282,00.html

Dear X,

Sorry about that - here are the options, think I'va attatched (sic) them properly this time. If not, it is 4.00 for airmail, or 15.00 for a courier services (that is insured). You can email me back [ can : présupposition ] , and I can place the order - or alternatively you may place it over the Foyles website [ may : choix ouvert, latitude laissée au co-énonciateur ].

Unfortunately I can't find a Penguin edition, but there is this one, that I think is most similar :

Series: Oxford Bookworms Library, Stage 1
The Elephant Man : 400 Headwords
by Tim Vicary
£3.20

Therefore the total would be 3.20, plus the postal rate you wish to choose.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely
Y
Customer services

    Email, 16.2.2005.

Private Eye        added  25.7.2005

Voir aussi

Reprise de may par could / might

Formuler une hypothèse

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