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The modal auxiliary might has one
form that is used only
for past situations: might have. This form is followed by
the past
participle of a verb (might have seen / known /
left
/ forgotten / heard / etc.)
Like may have, might
have can mean
that something
was possible in the past. However,
it also has another very
different meaning: something
was possible in the past, but
it didn't happen.
Examples:
It's possible that Joe failed
the test. =
Joe may have
/ might have failed the test.
Joe almost failed the test,
but he was lucky and passed it. =
Joe might have failed the test, but he was lucky and
passed
it.
Maybe Mary left early. =
Mary may
have / might have left early.
It was possible for Mary to
leave early, but she decided
not to. = Mary might have left early, but she decided
not to.
Maybe Bill forgot about the
meeting. =
Bill may have
/ might have forgotten about the meeting.
Bill almost forgot about the
meeting, but fortunately
Suzie reminded him. =
Bill might have
forgotten about
the meeting if Suzie hadn't reminded him.
Maybe Frank didn't hear the
news. =
Frank may
/ might not have heard
the news.
Frank almost didn't hear the
news, but luckily Lisa
sent him an e-mail message
about it. = Frank might
not
have heard the news if Lisa hadn't sent him an e-mail
message about it.
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Special
Notes:
| 1. |
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When the outcome of something
in the past
is not known, either may have or
might
have
may
be used:
| A: |
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Why isn't Sam here yet? |
| B: |
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I don't know. He may have / might have
been delayed by traffic. |
If the outcome of something
in the past is known
and something was possible
but it didn't happen,
only might have may be used:
| A: |
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Bob is really lucky, isn't he? |
| B: |
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Yes, he definitely is. He might have
been badly injured if he hadn't been
wearing
his seat belt during the accident. |
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| 2. |
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Might
have, like may have, has a contracted form:
might've, Because the 've
sounds the same as "of,"
native speakers
sometimes write *"might of"--
which
is completely wrong. |
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| 3. |
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In the casual
everyday speech of many speakers of
American English,
the pronunciation of might've
is often difficult
to understand because it sounds
something like
"MYduh." (The "t" in might've
sounds something like a "d"
or "r.") |
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