May vs might

Question

Salaam,This has been confusing the hell out of me.According to the dictionary, may is present, might is past, but 'may have' (not might have) is past perfect! Does that mean even in past tense, we can say: He may have robbed the bank, but he didn't kill anyone. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Salaam,

The perfect tense is formed with the past participle of the main verb and the helping verb have.

I have been a member of EnglishForward for two years.
The robber has robbed six banks in the past three months.
He had worked as a day laborer for years before he went back to school.

That is the basic pattern. Now you want to add a modal auxilliary (may, might) to further change the meaning of the verb to add some notion of probability or possibility.

Use 'may" if the action is being considered from the point of view of possibilty after the action (i.e. looking back on the situation from the present or a more recent past time).
Use might if it refers to possibility in the past time when the action actually happened.

Although she may have been a member of EnglishForward for two years, her command of English grammar is not very good.
The robber may have robbed six or more banks in the past three months, but since no one was injured, he got a light sentence.

It might have been much worse. He used a gun in the robberies and could have killed someone. (Possibility in the past)

He might have qualified for a better job if he had continued his education and completed his degree. (Possibility in the past)

Anonymous · Answer

Salaam AS, thanks a lot. You've been very helpful.

Let me see if I get this: We use 'may have' if a thing has already occurred. It (may have) rained a lot but the streets were clean.

We use 'might have' when there is uncertainty: it might have rained. (but no one knows for sure).

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousAccording to the dictionary, may is present, might is past, but 'may have' (not might have) is past perfect!

That last comment about "past perfect" is very, very strange! I don't believe that dictionary. As a speaker of American English here's how I see it:

may and might, the simple modal forms, are essentially synonymous.* may tends to be used in more formal situations, for example, in a scientific article. might is used in most ordinary conversations. They both mean "It is possible that ...".

Charlene is not eating. She [may / might] be ill. Or she [may not / might not] like the food.
=Charlene is not eating. It is possible that she is ill. Or it is possible that she does not like the food.

may have and might have, the modal perfect forms, are also essentially synonymous. The observations made above regarding formality apply equally here. Both of these mean, "It was possible that ...".

Charlene was not eating. She [may have / might have] been ill. Or she [may not have / might not have] liked the food.
=Charlene was not eating. It was possible that she was ill. Or it was possible that she did not like the food.

______________

AnonymousHe may have robbed the bank, but he didn't kill anyone.

This is an example of the concessive use of may. (As above, might can substitute.) In this usage, may (have) or might (have) is used to concede a truth while the following clause softens, discounts, or denies the implications of that truth. When you concede a truth, you are not merely saying "it is/was possible". You are agreeing to the truth of the statement. So the exact meaning of may and might is a bit different in these.

I [may / might] be crazy, but I'm not stupid!
I [may have / might have] been crazy, but I wasn't stupid!

He [may not / might not] like it, but he does as he is told.
He [may not have / might not have] liked it, but he did as he was told.

Even though she [may / might] talk too much, she is easy to get along with.
Even though she [may have / might have] talked too much, she was easy to get along with.

Whatever you [may / might] think, those are the facts.
Whatever you [may have / might have] thought, those were the facts.

CJ

*Only might is used when a backshift of may is required:

Tom knew that Sharon [~~may~~ / might] be late.
If you saw it, you [~~may~~ / might] change your mind.
Louise thought Henry [~~may have~~ / might have] forgotten to bring the sandwiches.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousLet me see if I get this: We use 'may have' if a thing has already occurred. It (may have) rained a lot but the streets were clean.

We use 'might have' when there is uncertainty: it might have rained. (but no one knows for sure).

No. Both may and might are fine in these.

It may have rained.
It might have rained.

Concessive usage:

It may have rained a lot, but the streets were clean.
It might have rained a lot, but the streets were clean.

CJ

May vs might

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