FluencyLab
GrammarHub
Use may and might for possibility. The difference in certainty is often small; may is also common for polite or formal permission.
Overview
Use may and might for possibility. The difference in certainty is often small; may is also common for polite or formal permission.
Form and rules
May and might can both express present or future possibility: It may rain / It might rain.
Might can sound a little less certain in some contexts, but speakers often use the two forms with very little difference.
Use may not or might not for negative possibility.
May I...? is a polite or relatively formal way to ask permission.
Both modal verbs are followed directly by the base verb: may go, might be, not may to go or might goes.
A closer look
May I...? is a polite or relatively formal way to ask permission.
Both modal verbs are followed directly by the base verb: may go, might be, not may to go or might goes.
Examples
We may go out later.
He might be busy.
The shop may not be open.
May I come in?
She might call this evening.
Common mistakes
May I...? is a polite permission question.
May expresses possibility.
Ready to practise?
The test combines multiple choice, gap completion, error correction, and sentence building so students have to recognise and produce the grammar, not simply reread the rule.