Diary - A few month ago, I kept watching horror movies

[Maybo]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

A few month ago, I kept watching horror movies to make myself immune to them. However, I've found that it doesn't work because sometimes, I jolt simply because of jump scares, not because I'm really scared by the scenes. Therefore, I recently turned to reading horror books because I can't stand those jump scares anymore. I might have heart attacks.

 

[Matthew Wai]

The phrase “turned to” refers to the past, while “can't stand” refers to the present.
Do you think the simple past agrees with “can't stand” in your context?

 

[Maybo]

Do you think the simple past agrees with “can't stand” in your context?

It’s because I can’t stand to those jump scares anymore (happening now), but I recently turned to reading horror books (happened a couple of weeks ago).

 

[Matthew Wai]

You did something weeks ago because something else is happening now.
Do you think it makes sense?

 

[Maybo]

You did something weeks ago because something else is happening now.
Do you think it makes sense?

No, it happened in the past and is still happening now. If I said “I couldn’t stand it” doesn’t sound like I can stand it now?

 

[Matthew Wai]

If I said “I couldn’t stand it” doesn’t sound like I can stand it now?

No, it does not sound to me as if you can stand it now.
However, I am a Chinese speaker. Wait for an English speaker to answer your question.

If I use “can’t stand”, I would use the present perfect “have recently turned to”, providing that no past time marker has been used in the sentence.

 

[tedmc]

No, it happened in the past and is still happening now. If I said “I couldn’t stand it” doesn’t it sound like I can stand it now?

No, saying you couldn't stand it then does not mean you can stand it now.

 

[Matthew Wai]

No, saying you couldn't stand it then does not mean you can stand it now.

Are you sure "then" should be used there?

 

[Matthew Wai]

A few month ago,

Do you see a careless mistake?

 

[tedmc]

Are you sure "then" should be used there?

Yes, it refers to the time when OP switched to reading horror books.

 

[Maybo]

I can't stand those jump scares anymore. I might have heart attacks.

If I use “couldn’t”, do I need to say “might have had”?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I might have heart attacks (if I had such a scare).
It is the second conditional. It refers to the present.

I might have had heart attacks (if I had had such a scare).
It is the third conditional. It refers to the past.

Do you want to talk about the present or the past?

 

[jutfrank]

I recently turned to reading horror books because I couldn't stand those jump scares any longer.

 

[Maybo]

Do you want to talk about the present or the past?

The present. I have a question. Do we have the past tense of “might”?

 

[Matthew Wai]

The present. I have a question. Do we have the past tense of “might”?

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/he-might-have-wanted-me-to-wear.267177/#post-1456248

 

[Maybo]

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/he-might-have-wanted-me-to-wear.267177/#post-1456248

The link inside the link doesn't work.

The past tense of "may" is "might".
The past tense of "might" is "might have p.p."
Am I correct?

When I see "might have p.p.", it is the past tense of "might".

 

[Matthew Wai]

I would not say that "might + have + past participle" is the past tense of "might".
I would say that "might + have + past participle" refers to past possibility, as I already said so years ago.

I just found the following article:

Modals in the Past

continuingstudies.uvic.ca

Scroll down to "1. Might have, may have, could have".

 

[tedmc]

Matthew
You have not answered Maybo's question in post #11.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Matthew
You have not answered Maybo's question in post #11.

If s/he wants to talk about the present, I suggest using “might + bare infinitive”.
If s/he wants to talk about the past, I suggest using “might + have + past participle”.

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo It's a little confusing. I do have a couple of questions for you.

Apparently, you don't enjoy horror movies, but you watch them anyway.

Do those jump scares happen while you're watching the movie or at other times?

You could say you're afraid you might have a heart attack. (I wouldn't use the plural there )

We saw "The Shining" once. It was creepy.

I don't understand your fascination with that genre. You don't seem to enjoy it that much.

I probably have overlooked something.