Unit 16: What's the weather like?

Using 'may', 'might' and 'could'

Might, may and could for possibility

Meaning and use
We use might + verb, may + verb or could + verb to talk about the possibility of something
in the present or the future, when we are making a guess about a present situation, or we
arent sure if something will happen in the future.
I might go to the exhibition at the Tate this afternoon. (future)
Hes travelling in Eastern Europe. He may be in Ukraine by now. (present)
We could have some problems later this year. (future)

There is almost no difference in meaning between might, may and could.

We use might not/mightnt and may not to talk about negative possibility. We dont usually
use a contraction for may not. We cannot use could not/couldnt for possibility in the same
way as might not and may not (see Take note below).
We might not move into the new offices until the New Year.
Our client may not agree with our suggestions.
Form
We
use might/may/could + infinitive
without
to or might
not/mightnt/may
not +infinitive without to. They are the same for all persons (I, you, he, she, etc.).
Positive
They are warning that storms could hit most of the country later today.
There might be some delays (demora) on the railways (ferrocarriles) as a result.

Negative
Many people may not be able to get to work at all (en absoluto)
It mightnt affect us as badly (gravemente) as they say.

Question
It is possible to ask questions with Might/May/Could + subject + infinitive without to, but
it is more common to form a question with Do you think + subject +
might/may/could+ infinitive without to.
Do you think he might/may/could be in Ukraine by now?
(Might/May/Could he be in Ukraine by now?)

Take note: couldnt

We dont use couldnt in the same way as might not/mightnt/may not. Couldnt means
that something is impossible.
WRONG: I think there couldnt be any trains today, so Im going by bus.
CORRECT: I think there mightnt be any trains today, so Im going by bus.

Take note: might, may and could for permission

Might, may and could for permission are different from might, may and could for possibility.
For
permission
with might, may and could,
the
question
form
is
Might/May/Could I + infinitive without to. Might for permission is very formal.
Could/May/Might I come with you to the exhibition?
Spoken English

Might, may and could are modal verbs. When we say modal verbs, we usually say them
quicklyhout emphasis. We dont pronounce the t or d in might and could or the t at the
end of mightnt and couldnt.

They might get here late.

We mightnt watch the whole film.
It couldnt be Pete you saw because hes in Greece.

From 6 Minute Vocabulary:

noun - verb - adjective

rain - rain - rainy
There is a lot of rain; It rains a lot; It's very rainy
snow - snow - snowy
There is a bit of snow; It snows in winter; It's a bit snowy
wind - blow - windy
I don't like wind; The wind blew the trees over; It's always windy
sun - shine - sunny
The sun is hot today; I wear sunglasses when the sun shines; It's sunny today

6 Minute Vocabulary
Weather words
Catherine
We'll start by listening to Harvey, talking about the weather where he lives. And we have a
question for you at home.
Rob
what is the weather like for Harvey in spring?
Harvey
I live in the north. I love it here, but the weather isn't too good. There's a lot of rain in the

autumn and winter. In fact, it's raining right now. Sometimes it snows in the winter. In the
spring the weather's usually quite windy. But it's lovely and sunny in summer.

Catherine
Harvey said that the weather gets quite windy in spring.
Rob
And we'll talk more about windy weather later. First, let's talk about the rain! Listen to this clip:
There's a lot of rain in the autumn and winter.
Catherine
In this sentence, rain is a noun, so in a sentence, we can say there is a lot of rain, or we can
add a main verb, for example: I like rain.
Rob
the word rain can also be a verb. For example: it rains a lot here in London; in fact, look out
the window: it's raining now!
Catherine
And can add a letter 'y' to the end of rain to make the adjective rainy.
Rob
So that's the noun - rain; the verb - rain; and the adjective - rainy. The word snow works in
the same way.
Sometimes it snows in the winter.
Catherine
The word snow there is a verb.
Rob
As a noun, we can say: sometimes there is snow.
Catherine
Or we can add the letter 'y' to make an adjective. Sometimes it's snowy.
In the spring the weather's usually quite windy.
Catherine
In this sentence, windy is an adjective.
Rob
We can also use the word wind as a noun. Is there much wind today Catherine?

Catherine
So that's wind as a noun and windy as an adjective, but we can't use wind as a verb. You
have to use a different verb like blow. The wind is blowing very hard today...
Rob
And the word sun is the same. It's a noun:
Catherine
The sun is hot...
Rob
It can make an adjective:
Catherine
It's lovely and sunny...
Rob
But it isn't a verb. You need a different word for that.
Catherine
The sun is shining, even though it isn't!
Rob
OK, it's quiz time! Are these sentences correct or wrong? Number one. It's sunning today.
Catherine
That's wrong. You can't say it's sunning, because sun isn't a verb. Instead, say it's
sunny or the sun is shining.
Rob
Number two. There was a lot of snow last week.
Rob
Here comes the last one. I don't like windy.
Catherine
And that's also wrong. Windy is an adjective, so we need to add a noun here. Say: I don't
like windy weather. Or, use wind as a noun and say: I don't like wind.
Catherine
when you learn a new word for the first time, you'll learn it more effectively if you use it a few
times in the first 24 hours. So, if you learn a new word in the morning Rob, look it up again in
the evening before you go to sleep.

The Weather Supercomputer

Might, may and could

We use might + verb, may + verb or could + verb to talk about the possibility of something
in the present or the future, when we are making a guess about a present situation, or we
arent
sure
if
something
will
happen
in
the
future.
Examples:
I might go to the exhibition at the Tate this afternoon. (future)
Hes travelling in Eastern Europe. He may be in Ukraine by now. (present)
We could have some problems later this year. (future)
There is no difference in meaning between might, may and could.
We use might not / mightnt and may not to talk about negative possibility. We dont usually
use a contraction for may not.
We cannot use could not / couldnt for possibility in the same way as might not and may
not.
Examples:
We might not move into the new offices until the New Year.
Our client may not agree with our suggestions.

6 Minute Grammar

Neil
Now the first thing to say about may, might and could is that they are
often followed by an infinitive verb without to.

Neil
Catherine, what are you having for dinner tonight?
Catherine
Well, I may make chicken curry.
Catherine
Or I might have steak
Catherine
Or I could get a takeaway.
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
Now those examples were about future possibilities Catherines 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 dont know where Shaheen is. He could be at work.
The agency may have the information you want.
Sophie
Im not sure. She may be from IT.
Neil
Or, she might be the new presenter.
Sophie
She could be the studio manager.
Sophie
we often use may, might and could to make guesses.
Sophie
Now, for negatives, we use might not 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 mightnt, but this is not so usual.
Neil
and some people shorten may not to maynt, but thats unusual too.
Sophie
Now, we promised you a word of warning
Sophie
The negative of could is couldnt, but be very careful with couldn't when youre talking
about future possibility or future uncertainty.
Neil
Imagine youre in an airport. Your plane is due to take off in an hour from now, but
the weather is getting worse youre 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
but if you say: We couldnt take off youre talking about an
impossible situation in the past, not an uncertain situation in the future. So you cant use
couldnt in our airport example.
Sophie
So watch out for couldnt.
Neil
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 its 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
Its b) I may go to Spain.
Neil
Thats 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
Its 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
Its b) Do you think we might have to go now?

Looking to the future - a weather warning

Talking about cause and effect relationships

The video talked about some of the possible effects of climate change. We often use may,
might and could to describe cause and effect relationships.
For example, we can join a cause - rising temperatures, to an effect - flooding, with may,
might or could + verb, like this:
Rising temperatures may cause flooding
The word may shows that the effect (flooding) is a possible result. If the result is definitely
going to happpen, use will:
Rising temperatures will cause flooding