May(have) and Might(have)

UNIT 28   May (have) and might (have)

A.   Study this example situation:
You are looking for Jack. Nobody knows for sure where he is, but you get some suggestions:

• He may be in his office. (= perhaps he is in his office)

• He might be having lunch. (= perhaps he is having lunch

• Ask Ann. She might know. (= perhaps Ann knows)

We use may or might to say that something is possible. You can say:

He may be in his office. or He might be in his office.

The negative is may not and might not:

• Jack might not be in his office. (= perhaps he isn't in his office)

•  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:

                                                           {be in his office.
I/you/he (etc.) {may}       (not)   {be having/waiting, etc.
                            {might}                 {know/have/do, etc.
                                                                      

B.   To say what was possible in the past, we use may have (done) and might have (done):

• A:   I wonder why Ann didn't answer the doorbell.

           B:   Well, I suppose she may have been sleep. (= perhaps she was asleep)

• A:   Why didn't he say hello when he passed us on the street?

           B:   He might have been daydreaming. (= perhaps he was daydreaming)

• A:   I can't find my bag anywhere.

          B:   You might have left it in the store. (= perhaps you left it)

• A:   I wonder why Jill didn't come to the meeting. 

           B:   She might not have known about it (= perhaps she didn't know)


Study the structure:

                                                                            {been asleep
I/you/he (etc.) {may}          (not) have       {been daydreaming/ waiting, etc
                           {might}                                  {known/left/had, etc

                                                                      
C.   You can use could instead of may or might. But with could the possibility is smaller:

• "Where's Jack?"     ''I'm not sure. He could be in his office, I suppose, but he's not usually there at this time.''