Katya
may-might-could: do natives feel the difference in the spoken language? in some sources they say that "may" and "might" are nearly interchangeable, some claim that they go in such an order: "may" is the most probable, then "could" and "might" expresses the least probable situation. could anyone please help me to clear this up... just wether this difference is really felt or not and which one of these is used most frequently
Nov 10, 2019 9:56 PM
Answers · 5
May and might are literally synonymous, could means the ability to do something. I may/might study Latin. I could study Latin if I have time.
November 10, 2019
thanks a lot!))
November 11, 2019
I feel like may is much less common now. Especially for the use “I may go to the store” it’s much more common especially among young people to use might instead. May sounds more formal in a use like that.
November 11, 2019
May and might are very similar, but can be used in some different situations. For example, when asking for permission ("May I do something?") We only use may. When talking about future possibilities ("I might do it tomorrow" vs "I may do it tomorrow") it's used in the same way. Some people will tell you that "might" has a higher chance of happening than "may" (something like 50% vs 40% respectively) but not all native speakers will agree.
November 10, 2019
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