grammar - "might have been" vs "might be"


I have a question about the present perfect and present simple. Here's a sample dialogue.



A: "I can't find my umbrella. Have you seen it?"
B: "It might be in the car."



Why don't we use the "might have been" instead of "might be"?


And here is another dialogue.



A: "The man you spoke to - are you sure he was American?"
B: "No, I'm not sure. He might not have been American."



Why don't we use the "might not be" instead of "might not have been"?



Answer




A: "I can't find my umbrella. Have you seen it?"
B: "It might be in the car."



In the above sentence, the umbrella may still be in the car. This 'incident' of umbrella's 'being' in the car is still a possibility. Hence the usage of present tense. (Please bear with me, if it does not make sense now).[1]



A: "The man you spoke to - are you sure he was American?"
B: "No, I'm not sure. He might not have been American."



In the above sentence, this 'situation' where he was 'being' an American is something that may not have happened i.e. he was not actually an American and hence the usage of present perfect.[2]


To sum it up




  • The umbrella may still be in the car, it's a possibility, hence present tense.




  • The situation where the guy was pretending (or not) to be an American has happened (and completed) in the past, hence present-perfect.




Let me know, in the comments, how I fared.


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