2. MAY and MIGHT

We use may or might to: make a suggestion or an assumption. EXAMPLE: Everyone is looking for George. He may/might be in the toilet. indicate that something is a possibility. EXAMPLE: What we are told may/might be true. possibly take the place of could. EXAMPLE: That man over there looks like Mike. He could/may/might be Mike. say about something that is possible to happen in the future. EXAMPLE: We may visit them in Birmingham for the summer holidays. EXAMPLE: They might go out later when the weather improves. (For these two examples, we can also use might visit or may go.) For something that happened in the past, we can use may have or might have. EXAMPLE: She may have been asleep when the burglar entered the house. EXAMPLE: The police think he might have seen the robbery and are looking for him. We use ‘might’, and not ‘may’, for an unreal situation. EXAMPLE: If I met her again, I might ask for her telephone number. (It is quite unlikely that I meet her again, so I don’t get to ask for her telephone number. We do not use may here.) We can use the continuing form with may/might. EXAMPLE: I may/might be reading in the library this evening. We can use be going with may/might. EXAMPLE: We may/might be going to Australia next month. // We may/might go to Australia next month. (These sentences do not change in meaning)