Learning English

Sophie
Welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Sophie.

Neil
And with me, Neil. Hello.

Sophie
Today’s programme is all about the words may, might and could.

Neil
Yes, we’ll look at how to use these three little words to talk about present and future
possibilities…

Sophie
We’ll tell you what to watch out for…

Neil
We’ll give you a top tip to make your spoken English sound really natural… 

Sophie
… and we’ll finish with a quiz.

Neil
So listen carefully! Now the first thing to say about may, might and could is that they are
often followed by an infinitive verb without to. And here’s Catherine… Hello!  

Catherine
Hello!

Neil
…to bring us our first example. Catherine, what are you having for dinner tonight?

Catherine
Well, I may make chicken curry. 

Neil
Sounds good.

Catherine
…Or I might have steak…

Neil
Even better.

Catherine
…Or I could get a takeaway.

Neil
Not very healthy - but very convenient.

Sophie
So, tonight Catherine may have chicken; she might have steak: she could get a
takeaway. May, might and could with an infinitive show all three options are future
possibilities.

Neil
Good. Now those examples were about future possibilities – Catherine’s dinner tonight – but we can also use may, might and could with an infinitive to talk about present possibilities, like this:

Catherine
I think Jackie likes chicken - but she might prefer fish.
I don’t know where Shaheen is. He could be at work.
The agency may have the information you want.

Sophie
Right, so that's present and future possibilities. Now, we can also… (someone knocks at the door) …er, hello?

Woman
Oops, sorry – wrong studio!

Neil
Who was that?

Sophie
I’m not sure. She may be from IT.

Neil
Or, she might be the new presenter.

Sophie
She could be the studio manager.

Neil
We’re all guessing …

Sophie
Yes, well, anyway, as I was about to say, we often use may, might and could to make guesses.

Sophie
And we’re talking about may, might and could. Now, for negatives, we use might not or
or may not. So we can say:

Catherine
I might not cook chicken curry.
I think that woman is the new studio manager – but she may not be.

Sophie
The short form of might not is mightn’t, but this is not so usual.

Neil
…and some people shorten may not to mayn’t, but that’s unusual too. 

Sophie
Now, we promised you a word of warning…

Neil
We did. 

Sophie
… and here it is. The negative of could is couldn’t, but be very careful with couldn't when you’re talking about future possibility or future uncertainty. Neil, give us an example situation. 

Neil
Yes. Imagine you’re in an airport. Your plane is due to take off in an hour from now, but
the weather is getting worse – you’re getting worried. You might say this:

Catherine
If the weather gets worse, our plane could take off late. We might not take off at all!

Neil
Now that’s all fine, but if you say: We couldn’t take off – you’re talking about an
impossible situation in the past, not an uncertain situation in the future. So you can’t use
couldn’t in our airport example.

Sophie
So watch out for couldn’t.

Neil
Yes. Stick with might not or may not if you want to play it safe here.

Sophie
Now, for questions, you can use might, may and could, but a top tip to make your English sound more natural is to use the phrase Do you think…? 

Neil
So you can say Might Catherine have chicken curry for dinner? But it sounds more natural to say Do you think Catherine might have chicken curry for dinner?

Sophie
So it’s Do you think, then a subject, then might, may or could plus infinitive.

Neil
Sophie, I think we could be ready for our quiz. Number one. Which is the correct answer to the question: Where are you going on holiday? Is it a) I may to go to Spain or b) I may go to Spain.

Sophie
It’s b) I may go to Spain.

Neil
That’s right. Number two. Which is correct? The traffic is getting worse, so a) I may not be home on time or b) I could not be home on time.

Sophie
It’s a) The traffic is getting worse, so I may not be home on time.

Neil
And the last one. Which sounds more natural? a) Might we have to go now or b) Do you
think we might have to go now?

Sophie
It’s b) Do you think we might have to go now?

Neil
Well done if you got those right and yes, we do have to go now. There’s more about this on our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Grammar.

Both              
Bye.