Page 70 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
29 may and might 1

A Study this example situation:
You are looking for Ben. Nobody is sure where he is, but you get some suggestions.
Where’s Ben? He may be in his office. (= perhaps he is in his office)

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

Ask Kate. She might know. (= perhaps she knows)

We use may or might to say that something is possible. You can use may or might:
It may be true. or It might be true. (= perhaps it is true)
She might know. or She may know.
The negative forms are may not and might not:
It may not be true. (= perhaps it isn’t true)
She might not know. (= perhaps she doesn’t know)

be (true / in his office etc.)
may
I/you/he (etc.) (not) be -ing (doing / working / having etc.)
might
know / work / want etc.

Note the difference between may be (2 words) and maybe (1 word):
It may be true. (may + verb)
‘Is it true?’ ‘Maybe. I’m not sure.’ (maybe = it’s possible, perhaps)
B For the past we use may have … or might have … :
a: I wonder why Kate didn’t answer her phone.
b: She may have been asleep. (= perhaps she was asleep)
a: I can’t find my phone anywhere.

b: You might have left it at work. (= perhaps you left it at work)

a: Why wasn’t Amy at the meeting yesterday?
b: She might not have known about it. (= perhaps she didn’t know)
a: I wonder why David was in such a bad mood yesterday.
b: He may not have been feeling well. (= perhaps he wasn’t feeling well)
been (asleep / at home etc.)
may
I/you/he (etc.) (not) have been -ing (doing / working / feeling etc.)
might
known / had / wanted / left etc.

C could is similar to may and might:
It’s a strange story, but it could be true. (= it is possible that it’s true)

You could have left your phone at work. (= it’s possible that you left it there)
But couldn’t (negative) is different from may not and might not. Compare:

Sarah couldn’t have received my message. Otherwise she would have replied.
(= it is not possible that she got my message)
Why hasn’t Sarah replied to my message? I suppose she might not have received it.
(= it’s possible that she didn’t receive it – perhaps she did, perhaps she didn’t)

could ➜ Unit 27 may/might 2 ➜ Unit 30 may I … ? ➜ Unit 37C
58 might with if ➜ Units 30B, 38C, 40D Modal verbs (can/will etc.) ➜ Appendix 4