[MrPedantic]

Hello Riverkid

I'm sorry to add a third dialogue to the thread. I'll try to keep it brief.

<...I see that you're enjoying a sunny day there in your neck of the woods...>
It's increasingly common these days. Disconcerting for us damp crepuscular English folk.

<...Whatever she used was at least complete, if in fact she used any at all. Really, give it a bit of a think; does this not say that this condition exists at anytime she engages in spinning...>
<...And what of the paraphrases I put for this in my last posting? Did you not consider any of them to be accurate?...>
<...Could 'might' not substitute there for 'may'? Could 'can' substitute for 'may'?...>
I have a sense that you may well be arguing against a position I'm not at this moment trying to defend; or perhaps vice versa.

Suppose we try to find the common ground, and look at the question from that position.

Take these two statements, for instance:

1. The past tense expresses an action in the past. It may also be used to express e.g. suggestions, hypotheses, and the unreal.

2. V2 expresses "remoteness", in terms of e.g. time, hypotheses, the unreal.

Which of these is closer to your position?

(For "remoteness" in #2, feel free to substitute a word which better suits your position.)

MrP