May and might – for future possibilities

May and might + infinitive is used to mean that some action or event is possible in the future. There is no real difference between may and might in this use:

• We may get a take-away and stay in, or we might go out. We’ll see.

When talking about possible events in the future we can also use the continuous infinitive of action verbs with more or less the same meaning as the infinitive.

• Dad may be coming with us on holiday, or he might be going away with some friends.

We can also use be going to to talk about plans and intentions concerning the future:

• They said they may be going to travel to Cornwall for a friend’s leaving do.(= they intend to travel)
• Mike and Jenny may be going to move abroad. (= they plan to move).
• Tom may be going to apply for Cambridge*.

* = to Cambridge University

We also use may / might to say that something is possibly happening at the moment. In this meaning, we use the infinitive of state verbs:

• Harry may seem bored, but he’s enjoying himself.

and the continuous infinitive of action verbs:

• Harry might be working at home today.

We use may / might not when we are saying something is possibly not the case:

• Germany may not / might not be the best example of a strong modern economy (it is possible that it is not the best example, but it might be.)
• Today may not / might not be the right moment to ask the boss about a rise. (it is possible that it will be the wrong moment, but it may not be).