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Focus on MAY: Possibility and permission. - English lesson
As well as CAN expresses CAPACITY (physical or intellectual capacity) and more and more often a PERMISSION (in casual language) test, we're going to study MAY, which really expresses the POSSIBILITY of an action.
1) MAY can express an action that is POSSIBLE for someone to do. In formal language,
MAY can express a PERMISSION/ or an absence of PERMISSION or a POSSIBILITY.
a) - Yes, you may go out provided you come home early. (PERMISSION)
With that meaning, MAY has an equivalent (in the future) : TO BE ALLOWED TO
- You won't be allowed to go out after the beginning of the lesson.
- Visitors may not take photos.(absence of PERMISSION)
b) - She may come or not... You never know... (POSSIBILITY)
- She may not agree with you in the end.
2) The 'past' form of MAY, MIGHT, expresses a very uncertain possibility.
- I asked her if I might go before the end. (permission in the indirect style)
- I might arrive very late, depending on the traffic.
3) What about the past?
MAY HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE // MIGHT HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE.
- There may have been several explanations to the mystery...
- He might have met her before.
- She might have given up (she probably did) when she saw she had the wrong key.
Easy, isn't it? A little training will enable you to dominate this notion.
The test will help you. Go for it!



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