ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: past tense of 'may'

Mister Micawber — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:40:15 GMT

Yes, that is one of the uses of might.

"May I come in?"

He asked if he might come in.

Re: past tense of 'may'

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:21:26 GMT

I want to confirm one more thing.

Present Tense Simple Past Tense

may might

run ran

come came

Can I group 'might' as past tense of 'may' as shown above?

If so, 'might' can be to the past tense of 'may'. Am I right or wrong?

Please explain.

Thanks in advance.

Re: past tense of 'may'

Marius Hancu — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:38:27 GMT

That's only true in a superficial approach.

Pretty much, they are independent verbs, appearing in all tenses.

See this by Mister Micawber:

Mister Micawber #42001 Fri, 13 Aug 04 08:36 AM

Hi Deer,

'May' and 'might' are related by psychological or social (but not temporal) distance; they are usually interchangeable. 'Might' is more remote than 'may', but neither normally has a 'past' meaning, except by using the 'have' + -ed form: 'I may/might have left my wallet at home.'

Again, the passive has the same relationship to the active as we saw with 'can/could': the object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb.

-for possibility:

'The police may arrest me tomorrow.'
'The police might arrest me tomorrow.' (considered a slightly more remote possibility than with 'may')
'I may be arrested (by the police) tomorrow.'
'I might be arrested (by the police) tomorrow.'

-for permission:

'May I use the car tonight?'
'Might I use the car tonight?' (the speaker is slightly more remote in status, i.e. is more polite)
'May your garden be photographed (by our horticultural club)?'
'Might your garden be photographed (by our horticultural club)?'

-for wishes ('may' only, and an uncommon usage):

'May you have a Merry Christmas!'
'I hope your son may not be bullied at boarding school next year.'

Re: past tense of 'may'

Ant_222 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:14:19 GMT

'Yes, it is the past tense and subjunctive mood of "may".

past tense of 'may'

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:18:23 GMT

Is 'might' the past tense of 'may'? If not, what is their relationship? Is it past form?

Thank you very much.