May 1 May goes before a main verb

May 1. May goes before a main verb. E. g. may win; 2. May never changes its form; 3. May is not followed by TO. 4. May = POSSIBILITY 5. May means “It is possible that something will happen or is happening. ” n Teacher: Where’s Peter? Why is he late? n Student A: I don’t know, Mr. Law. He may be ill. n Student B: Or he may be too lazy to come to school!

The same meaning is expressed by perhaps or possibly. n E. g. Perhaps he is ill. 6. May often refers to a future possibility. n E. g. It may rain tomorrow, but I hope it will be sunny. 7. May not means “It is possible that something will not happen, or is not happening. ” n E. g. “How do you feel about the OT 2? Do you think you will pass it? ” n “It’s difficult to say. I may pass, but on the other hand I may not. I may fail. ” n

8. Note: The difference between Cannot and May not. n Cannot means “It is not possible. ” n May not means “ It is possible that something does not happen. ” n Compare: n That can’t/cannot be true. It must be false. (I am sure!) n That may not be true, but on the other hand, it may be (true). (I’m not sure. )

9. Questions about possibility n We cannot ask questions about possibility with may. Instead, we use can (or could). n E. g. Can/May I open the window for you? (Is it possible…) 10. May = permission n E. g. “May I use your telephone? ” ”Yes, certainly you may. Help yourself!” 11. May (= permission) is less common than can. You can use can instead of may, but many people think that may is more polite and correct than can.

Might 1. Might go with a main verb. 2. Might does not change its form. 3. Might is the “Past Tense form” of May – but its meaning is not usually past time. 4. Might often has the same meaning as Could. 5. Might means “possible but unlikely”. n E. g. It might rain tomorrow, but there are no clouds in the sky today.

6. Might is rarely used for asking Permission. We use could. n E. g. Could I see you for a few minutes? (More polite) 7. Might/could is used in making a Suggestion. n E. g. Student: What shall I do to improve my English? n Teacher: Well, you might/could try some of these grammar exercises. 8. Differences between could and might a. We use might more often for possibility and could more often for permission. b. Could can be used in requests. n E. g. Could you possibly lend me one million dollars? c. Could can be used to mean “was able to” or “would be able to”.