Might. Difference Between Can and Could Difference Between Could and Would Difference Between Will and Shall Difference Between May and Might Difference Between Should, Ought to and Must Difference Between Council and Counsel. Choosing one over the other will tell readers how likely you are to actually do the action or, as in your question's example, go to the store. Emphasize that they might see and use may in formal writing, but in speaking and informal writing, they should stick to … 1 - To express a wish or hope: May they be very happy in the future. In essence, may implies that there is a better likelihood or possibility of something happening than might does (maybe 70% vs. 30%). "May" or "might"? While one of them can be used in place of the other, there are slight differences between them. In the first sentence you can see that the word ‘may’ is used in the sense of ‘lesser possibility’. Difference Between May and Might is that May is a modal verb (those verbs that are used before ordinary verbs and explain possibility, necessity, certainty or permission). It is likely that the restaurant will close. Might is the Past Tense of May. ACTIVITY SUGGESTION Use this quiz either as a pre-activity diagnostic tool, or as a post-activity evaluative assessment. May and might are both ways of expressing possibility. 1. A Mighty Stretch. 2. As nouns the difference between might and may is that might is {{context|uncountable|lang=en}} power, strength, force or influence held by a person or group while may is the hawthorn bush or its blossoms. Students may not wear jeans. As with most rules in English grammar, there are a couple of exceptions: 1. However, when referring to something in the past, the rules get tighter. On the other hand, might is a past participle form of may, which is also used to show the possibility of the occurrence of an event, but only when there is a small degree of possibility. "Might" and "may" can be used interchangeably when they express the idea of possibility. The restaurant could close. Used in situations which are factual and likely to happen. No, you may not. Might is a synonym of may. Some people insist that you should use may (present tense) when talking about a current situation and might (past tense) when talking about an event that happened in the past. May This is a word that is becoming “old-fashioned”, which means that it’s not used as much as it was before, and even though it’s not used as much today, it still is an extremely common word in the English language. A: Both "may" and "might" have the same overall meaning, yes, but both indicate different verb moods. The distinction between the two is sufficiently fine that it’s not something writers need to obsess about. October 24, … Either modal verb can be used. On the other hand, might is a past participle form of may, which is also used to show the possibility of the occurrence of an event, but only when there is a small degree of possibility. Either modal verb can be used. Might and may. She might have left a message on my voice mail. The word “would” is the more commonly used of the two, and it … - Mahari, Sweden. Both words are modal verbs — and native speakers usually think these words have the same, or similar, meaning. It has always been confusing to differentiate between ‘may’ and ‘might.’ Privacy. 6 Responses to “Might, May, and Can” Corina on October 08, 2009 9:20 pm. Used in situations which are hypothetical and unlikely to happen. Whatever you do, please remind students that may is quite formal! I've always been confused as to when to use "may" and when to use "might"? Today….. 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