On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:50:52 +0100, curiosity wrote:
> I can't remember if this came up before, but I'm watching a film at the
> moment (1969) where the present tense of pouvoir is used to express
> "might" and "could", in particular:-
>
> Je peux vous decevoir = I might dissapoint you
>
> - is this ok and current?
In fact we would often use the conditional present here: "je _pourrais_
vous décevoir". But sometimes the indicative present can be used instead:
-Vous êtes toujours à l'heure.
-Je peux vous décevoir, vous savez...
= There is a possibility that I will be late someday.
IMO the conditional present is preferred even in such cases:
-Vous êtes toujours à l'heure.
-Je pourrais vous décevoir, vous savez...
Jerome
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