Modals · CEFR B1 · Independent

may / might — English modal verbs

Possibility, and formal permission.

The shape

may / might + plain verb

Say something is possible without claiming it is certain.

In Hindi

संभावना, और औपचारिक इजाज़त।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly said	Correct English
It may rains today.	It may rain today. After a modal the verb takes no -s.

Commonly said

Correct English

It may rains today.

It may rain today.

After a modal the verb takes no -s.

Easy to confuse with

Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.

Questions people ask

What is the may / might used for?: Possibility, and formal permission. In practice: say something is possible without claiming it is certain.
How do you form the may / might?: may / might + plain verb.
What is the most common mistake with the may / might?: Saying “It may rains today.” instead of “It may rain today.”. After a modal the verb takes no -s.

Where may / might fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

may / might is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.

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