I Swear English › Modal Verbs › May and Might for Possibility
How to form the may and might for possibility
We may have some money left. We might have some batteries.
The following video explains May and Might for Possibility:
When to use it
- May and might for present or future possibility — perhaps yes, perhaps no. It may rain later. She might be at home.
- Might feels a little less certain than may, but in everyday English they are almost the same.
Signal words & time expressions: perhaps, maybe, possibly, it's possible, who knows
Watch the video lesson
Video transcript
Hi. May and might for possibility. OK. I may go. Here may means the possibility. exists that... So, I may go. The possibility exists that I will go. OK. You could also say, I might go. Again the possibility exists that I will go. However notice, might is less probable than may. Let me give you some examples. OK. I'm coming to your house tomorrow, I may arrive early. The possibility exists. I might even arrive before twelve o'clock. The possibility exists, but less probability that I arrive before twelve. On my holidays I may go to Italy. possibility. I might even go to Greece, a possibility but more remote. Or for example: The weather forecast says that tomorrow it may rain, it might even snow. OK. the might again, a remoter possibility. Very often we use may to warn somebody about something. So for example: I know you have your party tomorrow, but I may not be able to come. Warning! The possibility exists that I will not come. OK. I may not arrive early. Be careful. Keep it in mind. So there you are, may for possibility and might for pos... possibility. OK. Notice in the past this is for speculation. So for example, if you got very drunk and don't remember you say: I may have drunk too much. OK. The possibility existed (but I don't remember) in the past. So there you go. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in another modal video. Bye for now.
Common mistakes to avoid
| Not quite… | Better |
|---|---|
| It | It may rain. — no to after the modal. |
| She | She may come later. — modals never add -s. |
Frequently asked questions
Is there any difference between ‘may’ and ‘might’?
Very little for possibility. Might can sound slightly less sure, and it's the usual choice in unreal situations, but both are correct in It may/might be true.
How do I make it negative?
may not / might not: She might not come. (Note: mayn't is very rare in modern English.)
Continue the course
This lesson is part of our free English Modal Verbs course — work through it in order or jump to what you need next.