Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.
For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!
May and might are helping verbs that can express possibility or permission.
Some authorities believe there is a difference between the two forms when they are used to express possibility, with may conveying possibility and might, unlikely possibility.
It is important to note that may expresses possibility in the present; might must be used when the possibility of doing something existed only in the past:
Might is sometimes preferred when you are asking for permission and more politeness or formality is required.
© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2024
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
Writing tools – Writing Tips
A product of the Translation Bureau