A tense problem about the use of modal verbs

Question

Here is an example from the HP books:

"Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold."

I think it enough to say "It might be Harvey. Or Harold." to report the character's thoughts here. Is it necessary to use the perfect?

Thanks.

Answer 1

In your case - yes, if you want to keep the narrative in past tense. The correct way to use might in a sentence referring to the past is might have + perfect - there is no Past Simple form in modern English.

Now, you don't necessarily have to use past tense here. There are two ways a narrator can typically express a character's thoughts:

• an indirect way, where they narrate, or describe a character's thoughts. This follows the narrative's tense, and it's what all your examples from Harry Potter use:

Alice opened the door and saw Bob and Eve in bed. She couldn't believe it. Was she dreaming? Did Bob really cheat on her with her sister?

• a more direct way, where the narrator quotes the character's thoughts as-is, which would typically be in present tense. As quotations, rather than parts of narrative, those will typically be typeset with quotes or - more commonly I think - italics:

Alice opened the door and saw Bob and Eve in bed. I can't believe it, she thought. Am I dreaming? Is Bob really cheating on me with my sister?

J.K. Rowling's stylistic choice is the former, and your examples are consistent with it.