May or Might and Infinitive: sentences, exercises, tests and examples

May / Might use

May / might is used to talk about possibility in the present or future and to show that we are not sure, but think something is possible.

It may rain later.
She might come with us.
We might not finish today.

May / Might Form

May and might are modal verbs. After them, we always use the base form of the verb (V1) without to. The forms may and might stay the same for all subjects.

Subject + may + V1
Subject + might + V1
Subject + may not / might not + V1

I may call him tonight.
He might be busy now.
They may not arrive on time.

May / Might Rule

  • May and might are used to talk about possibility in the present or future: something is possible, but we are not sure.
    It may snow tonight.
    Tom might miss the train.
  • People often say that may sounds a little more likely, while might sounds a little less certain or more tentative. In real use, however, this difference is often not strict.
    ✅ She may come later. (possible)
    ✅ She might come later. (also possible, often a bit less certain)
  • After may and might, we use only the base verb form without to.
    ❌ He may to come later.
    ✅ He may come later.
  • The forms may and might are the same with all subjects: I may, she may, they might. We do not add -s.
    ✅ She might need help.
    ❌ She mights need help.
  • Negation is formed with may not and might not. We do not use forms like don’t may or doesn’t might.
    ✅ We might not stay long.
    ❌ We don’t might stay long.
  • In this topic, may / might talk about possibility. May can also be used for permission (May I...?), but that is a different meaning.
    ✅ It may rain tonight. (possibility)
    ✅ May I come in? (permission)
  • Questions with may and might for possibility are less common. With may, questions more often express permission, while for possibility it is often more natural to use might or a structure like Do you think ... might ...?
    Might it rain later?
    Do you think she might come back?
  • May / might are not used together with another modal verb.
    ❌ She may can come.
    ✅ She may come.

May / Might Negation

Negation is formed with may not or might not. After them, we still use V1 without to.

Subject + may not + V1
Subject + might not + V1

He may not know the answer.
We might not have enough time.
The shop may not open on Sunday.

May / Might Questions

For questions about possibility, might is more common. The modal verb comes before the subject. We also often use the more natural structure Do you think ... might ...?

Might + subject + V1?
Wh-word + might + subject + V1?
Do you think + subject + might + V1?

Might he be at home now?
Why might they cancel the trip?
Do you think it might snow tonight?
Do you think she might be upset?

May / Might Common mistakes

❌ It may to rain later.
✅ It may rain later.
❌ She mays be late.
✅ She may be late.
❌ They don't might come.
✅ They might not come.
❌ He may can help us.
✅ He may help us.
❌ Do it may rain later?
✅ Might it rain later?
✅ Do you think it might rain later?

May / Might Sentences

I may stay at home this evening.
She might be tired after the flight.
We may need more chairs for the meeting.
They might not understand the message.
It may take longer than we expected.
He might forget about the appointment.
The keys may be in your bag.
Our team might win this game.
I may not go out if it gets cold.
Do you think they might arrive early?

May / Might Examples

The weather might change very quickly in the mountains.
I may buy a new laptop next month.
She might not come to class because she feels sick.
This answer may be correct, but I am not completely sure.
We might have dinner outside if the weather stays warm.
Your phone may be in the car.
Might he still be at the office?
Do you think the train might be delayed?
I may not finish this book tonight.
They might decide to move to another city.

English grammar exercises available in the app

Tenses

Future Simple Present Simple Present Perfect Present Continuous Past Simple Past Perfect Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous Be going to

Conditionals

Second Conditional First Conditional Third Conditional Zero Conditional

Sentences

Relative Clauses Conjunctions Reported Speech There is / There are There was / There were

Verbs

Used to To be used to To get used to

Modals

Should or Shouldn't May or Might and Infinitive Modal Verbs Can / Can't Speculation and Deduction

Nouns and Articles

Countable and Uncountable Singular and Plural Nouns Uncountable and Plural