May vs. Might: What's the Difference?
Learn how may and might express possibility, permission, past reporting, and conditions, with nuanced examples, a quiz, and FAQs.
May and might both express possibility. Might often sounds more tentative or remote, but the difference in probability is not fixed. May also grants or asks permission, while might is common in past reported speech and unreal conditional situations.
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A forecast says the launch may move, then a manager assumes this means it is more likely than “might move.” English does not provide a reliable percentage scale between the two words.
May vs. Might at a glance
| Word | Typical role | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| may | Modal verb | to be possible or permitted | The delivery may arrive before noon. |
| might | Modal verb | to be possible, tentative, conditional, or reported from the past | We might postpone the event if the storm worsens. |
How to use may
Use may for present or future possibility and for formal permission. It takes the base verb without to: may arrive, may change, and may be. In wishes, may can introduce a hoped-for outcome, as in “May you succeed.”
The delivery may arrive before noon.
How to use might
Use might for a tentative option, an unreal or conditional situation, or as the backshifted form of may in past reporting. It also takes the base verb and does not by itself assign a precise likelihood.
We might postpone the event if the storm worsens.
Rules that make the choice easier
Use either for possibility
Both can describe uncertain outcomes. Let tone and sentence structure guide the choice rather than inventing exact percentages.
Use may for permission
May I enter? and You may begin are established formal permission uses.
Use might in remote conditions
Might works naturally for hypothetical results: “If we had more time, we might test another version.”
Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not claim may always means a higher probability than might.
- Avoid may of and might of; write may have and might have.
- Do not add to after either modal.
Quick practice
1. ___ I ask a question?
Answer: May
2. If the road were open, we ___ arrive sooner.
Answer: might
3. Do may and might express exact probabilities?
Answer: No
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between may and might?
Both mark possibility; might is often more tentative, while may also expresses permission.
Does may mean more likely than might?
Not reliably. Context matters more than a fixed probability ranking.
Is might the past tense of may?
It can be used in past reported speech, but it also has present and future conditional uses.
Is may I more polite than can I?
May I is traditionally more formal for permission; can I is common and standard in everyday requests.