A Puzzle

Here’s a little puzzle (related or perhaps even essentially identical to matters discussed in the lecture notes). It is inspired by Sabine’s remark that while one can say “I might not have been here”, one cannot really say “I might (not) be here” (with a present time reference — there is of course a good future-oriented reading), presumably because … (fill in the blank on your own).

What is going on in the following dialogue that suddenly seems to allow something like “I might (not) be here”?

A: [making a cellphone call] Hi. This Joe.

B: [on the other end] Hi Joe. Are you here?

A: I might be. Or I might not. I think I took the right exit, but now I’m totally confused and don’t recognize any of the streets. Can you help me get oriented?

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