Unit 29. May and might (1)

Unit 29. May and might (1)
(использование оборотов may и might 1)

Study this example situation:

He may be in his office.
He might be having lunch.
Ask Ann. She might know.

(= perhaps he is in his office)
(= perhaps he is having lunch)
(= perhaps she knows)

We use may or might to say that something is a possibility. Usually you can use may or might, so you can say:

It may be true. or It might be true. (= perhaps it is true)
She might know. or She may know.

The negative forms are may not and might not (or mightn't):

It might not be true. (= perhaps it isn't true)
I'm not sure whether I can lend you any money. I may not have enough.
(= perhaps I don't have enough)

Study the structure:

I/ you/ he (etc.)

may
might

(not)

be (true / in his office etc.)
be (doing / working /having etc.)
do / go / know / have / want etc.

For the past we use may have (done) or might have (done):

A: I wonder why Kay didn't answer the phone.
B: She may have been asleep. (= perhaps she was asleep)
A: I can't find my bag anywhere.
B: You might have left it in the shop. (= perhaps you left it in the shop)
A: I was surprised that Sarah wasn't at the meeting.
B: She might not have known about it. (= perhaps she didn't know)
A: I wonder why Colin was in such a bad mood yesterday.
B: He may not have been feeling well. (= perhaps he wasn't feeling well)

Study the structure:

I/ you/ he (etc.)

may
might

(not) have

been (asleep / at home etc.)
been (doing / waiting etc.)
done / known / had / seen etc.

Sometimes could has a similar meaning to may and might:

The phone's ringing. It could be Tim.
(= it may/might be Tim)
You could have left your bag in the shop.
(= you may/might have left it…)

But couldn't (negative) is different from may not and might not. Compare:

She was too far away, so she couldn't have seen you.
(= it is not possible that she saw you)
A: I wonder why she didn't say hello.
B: She might not have seen you.
(= perhaps she didn't see you; perhaps she did)

See Unit 27. Could
(использование оборотов could (do) и could have (done)).
See Unit 30. May/might (2)
(использование оборотов may и might 2).
See Unit 36. May I … ?
(использование оборотов Can/ Could/ Would you …?).

← back forward →

Unit 29. May and might (1) (использование оборотов may и might 1)

Unit 29. May and might (1)
(использование оборотов may и might 1)