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We saw in an earlier Hint
that the modal auxiliary might is
often used as a past form for may when (1) a sentence contains
indirect speech and (2) the main verb of the sentence
is in
a past
tense.
Might is also used in other ways, however.
One of them is
in showing possibility in present or future time. Both might
and may
are used in this way, but with might,
the degree of
possibility is weaker than it is
with may.
Examples:
We might come
to the party.
(The chances are not high
that we will come
to the party, but it's still
possible that we will.)
I'm not sure
where Frank is. He might be on vacation.
(There's a chance that Frank
is on vacation,
but I'm not very sure that he
is.)
It might rain
tomorrow.
(It's not very likely that
it will rain, but rain
is still possible.)
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Special
Notes:
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silent letters in might
The letters g and h are silent in might: they are
written but not pronounced.
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| 2. |
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the pronunciation of
might
Might is sometimes hard to understand because
the
final t
is often not clearly pronounced. Because of this,
might sometimes sounds like my.
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| 3. |
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This use of might is
not past.
When might is used to show a slight possibility in
present
or future time (as it was used in the examples
given
above), it is not a past form
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