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Might V May
Might V May
Also, be aware that may can express the idea of permission. When this creates ambiguity, opt
for might.
Nowadays, might have and may have can also be used interchangeably, but might have
sounds more natural to the native ear (to the extent that may have is considered an error by
some).
Might or May
Might and may both express the idea of possibility.
For example:
However, be aware that some of your readers could treat may as more likely than might. In
other words, with the first example above (the one with might), they could treat the likelihood
of you attending the concert as, let's say, a 20% possibility; however, with the second
example (the one with may), they could treat this as, let's say, a 70% possibility. You should
not think of "weighting the possibility" as the difference between might and may though —
most people will not read that idea into it at all these days.
For example:
For example:
When you have a situation like this, use might (or a version of allow) to eliminate the
ambiguity.
For example:
For example:
(This is not wrong, but it does not sound as natural to the native ear as the version
above. This is especially true when the event did not occur. In this example, the
lasagne did not get made.)
For most native English speakers, might have usually sounds better. However, if you have a
good reason for using may have over might have, you should go for it.
For example:
(In this example, the author was keen to avoid mites might.)