Learn English – “May” & “Might”: What’s the right context

auxiliary-verbsgrammarmodal-verbsword-choice

  • I may not be coming in tomorrow…
  • I might not be coming in tomorrow…

When should I use "may" and when should I use "might"?

Best Answer

Formally, might is the past tense of may. In situations where the past tense is required, only might may be used:

Correct:

He said he might go.

Subordinate clauses in English must be in the past tense if the main clause is in the past tense, so this is correct.

Incorrect:

He said he may go.

Here you cannot use the present tense may with the past tense main verb said.

However, in the present tense may and might can be used interchangeably, meaning that all of the following are correct:

He says he may go.
He says he might go.
He may go.
He might go.