“May” vs. “might”

Question

What’s the difference between these sentences:

Am I missing something? These sentences are identical. – Matt Gutting Aug 11 '15 at 14:30 — Matt Gutting, Aug 11 '15 at 14:30
I am voting to close, this seems to be a trolling question. – Yeshe Aug 11 '15 at 14:36 — Yeshe, Aug 11 '15 at 14:36

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 11 '15 at 15:10

0

I think the may/might distinction is really in the tense:

NOTE: I changed the end of the sentences for clarity.

answered Aug 11 '15 at 15:10

SoSaysSunny

This is covered in far greater depth in the Are “might” and “should” past tenses of “may” and “shall”, respectively? thread. I've upvoted psmears's answer there. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '15 at 15:14
@EdwinAshworth, I read that entire thread and think that question comes from a completely different perspective. That one discusses 'may'/'might' as the primary verb in the sentence and whether or not 'might' is the past tense (or completed) form of the word 'may'. This question is more about choosing between 'may'/'might' in a clause (which, in both cases is forward-looking). – SoSaysSunny Aug 11 '15 at 18:53

score -1 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 11 '15 at 14:45

-1

Theoretically, "may" implies permission, whereas "might" implies that its physically possible.

In practice most people don't know there's supposed to be a distinction. They are typically used interchangeably.

answered Aug 11 '15 at 14:45

T.E.D.

Ok. I think you've convinced me (and convinced me this is a dup.) – T.E.D. Aug 11 '15 at 15:56

2 Answers2