[riverkid]

MrPedantic: Where "may" has a sense of "capacity", we sometimes find a genuine past-tense "might":


"Of course she was very busy all day long, but whenever she had a little spare time she sat down to spin. Her distaff turned of itself and her spindle span by itself and the flax wound itself off; and however much she might use there was always plenty left."


"Stilicho's position was not so secure as it seemed. His daughter, the Empress Maria, was dead, but Honorius had been induced to wed her sister Aemilia Materna Termantia, and Stilicho might think that his influence over the Emperor was inpregnable, and might still hope for the union of his son with Placidia. But any popularity he had won by the victory over Gildo, by the expulsion of Alaric from Italy, by the defeat of Radagaisus, was ebbing away."


Good day, Mr P.

These are not past tenses, Mr P. The don't refer to any finished action. They refer to, like Tdol's example, a general condition, a theoretical condition if you will. Semantically, it means the same as,

"... however much she used there was always plenty left."

OR

"If she used a lot of it there was still always plenty left."

"If she were to use a great deal, there was still always plenty left."

'might think' and 'might still hope' also do not refer to any finished actions. They describe future feelings. You're confusing operating in a past description with past tense.

How are these examples connected in any way with 'may'?