Modal verbs are placed before main verbs in sentences. They give additional meaning to the main verbs. Modal verbs we have studied include 'can', 'will', 'must', and 'should.'
The modal verbs we will cover in this lesson are 'may' and 'might'. They express possibility and permission.
The modal verb 'may' is used for two purposes:
- Express Possibility: It may rain tomorrow.
- Ask For/Give Permission: May I go home now? Yes, you may go home.
Add 'not' after 'may' to make negative sentences.
- It may not rain tomorrow.
- You may not go home yet.
Often times, saying 'May I?' by itself is enough to ask for permission for something. You can use this on the train to ask to sit next to someone.
If you ask "May I?", the woman will most likely move her stuff to let you sit down.
May and might are usually interchangeable when expressing possibility.
- It might rain tomorrow.
- It may rain tomorrow.
Might is generally not used for asking for or giving permission. For example 'Might I go home now?' is incorrect.
Another difference is that 'might' expresses a lower likelihood or possibility of something happening. For instance, we can say the idiom 'Pigs might fly' to mean that something is highly unlikely.
- A: I'm going to marry Leonardo DiCaprio!
- B: And pigs might fly! (= you will marry him when pigs fly... so never!)
This idiom would not make sense with 'pigs may fly,' because that means that pigs could actually fly.
When speaking, just use 'may' for permission, and 'might' for possibility. This way, you'll never misuse 'may' for very unlikely situations, and you'll never incorrectly use 'might' for permission.
