会社をやめるかもしれません。

Can I say "会社をやめたかもしれません。"? Is the second usage acceptable in Japanese?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-03T02:10:09.783
36377
2016-07-04T07:31:37.117
2016-07-03T03:38:15.253
5010
15811
question
meaning tense
Can I use やめた instead of やめる in this sentence?
The second sentence is grammatically correct. When you ask "does it make
sense", you are asking if it is semantically feasible.

The first is

Grammatically: (subject) might quit the company.  
Semantically: (subject) could be first or third person.

The second is

Grammatically: (subject) might have quit the company.  
Semantically: Normally, (subject) could only be third person, because if it
were first person, that person would know beyond doubt. Although, at a
stretch, there could be exceptional circumstances under which even first
person did not know whether they had quit or not.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-03T03:26:10.433
36378
2016-07-04T07:31:37.117
2016-07-04T07:31:37.117
14250
14250
36377
answer
Assuming "I" as the subject, The latter sentence, 会社をやめたかもしれません, means "I may
have quit my company." simply because やめた is the ta-form (past tense) of やめる.
Such a sentence is uncommon, but can be used:

  * When you have no idea what you actually did in the past, and you are really not sure whether you quit your company or you are still employed.
  * When you euphemistically confess to someone the fact that you quit your job. When you think suddenly saying it assertively is too shocking to someone. かもしれない can "soften" the sentence, even though you actually know you definitely quit your job.

If you are talking about what you will do in the future, 会社をやめたかもしれません never
works. You always have to say 会社をやめるかもしれません.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-03T03:32:21.483
36379
2016-07-03T03:32:21.483
5010
36377
answer