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Might You Mean May?
What is the difference between may and might? There may have been a clear difference long ago, and there still might be a difference in
some sticklers’ minds, but today the two verbs are, with few exceptions, interchangeable.
Grammarians tell us that might is the past tense of may, but that fact, while interesting, does not offer much guidance, considering how
frequently we use both may and might to talk about the present (I may/might be ready to leave now) and the future (I may/might call you tomorrow).
Many scholarly discussions of may vs. might state that may is used when something is more likely to happen, and might
is used when something is less likely to happen. So when you say I may be ready to leave, there is a good chance you are departing, but
when you say I might be ready to leave, you’d probably prefer to stick around awhile.
It is remarkable how many authorities, even today, buy into this. In the 2016 revised edition of Garner’s Modern English Usage, Bryan A.
Garner writes, “May expresses likelihood … while might expresses a stronger sense of doubt.”
We find this assertion baffling, and we are not alone. The online American Heritage dictionary says in a usage note: “It is sometimes said that might suggests a lower probability than may … In practice, however, few people make this distinction.” This echoes what the
language scholar John B. Bremner wrote forty years ago: “Some lexicographers see a nuance between may and might in the context of
probability … If such distinction exists in common language, the distinction is even thinner than nuance.”
Here are some exceptions to the interchangeability of may and might:
• Sometimes might means “should”: You’d think he might be more careful means he should be more careful.
No one who speaks fluent English would substitute may for might in that sentence.
• Most of us choose may over might in wishful or hopeful statements, such as May they live happily ever after.
• When a hypothetical sentence is set in the past, might is usually a better option: If she had worked harder, she might have kept her job. But when such sentences are in the present tense, either may or might can
be used: If she works harder, she may/might be able to keep her job.
• And you will note that the first word in the title of this article could not possibly be “May.”
Because of the e-newsletter’s large readership, please submit your English usage questions through GrammarBook.com’s “Grammar Blog.” |
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Wordplay
Thank you to cartoonist Dan Piraro.
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
