Page 168 - Nidalist
P. 168

Possibility                                                                                                  “MIGHT” WITH UNCERTAINTY


                                                                                                                        Other phrases can be
                                                                                                                        added to sentences
        Modal verbs can be used to talk about possibility, or to          See also:                                     with “might” to
        express uncertainty. “Might” is the most common modal             Present simple 1   Infinitives and participles 51     emphasize uncertainty
        verb used for this purpose.                                       Modal verbs 56                                about something.



                “MIGHT” FOR POSSIBILITY
         “Might” can be added to different phrases to
         refer to past, present, or future possibilities.
                                                                                                                               PAST POSSIBILITY
                 PAST POSSIBILITY              “MIGHT” + “HAVE” + PAST PARTICIPLE                                       As well as “might,” other modal verbs
                                                                                                                        can be used to talk about something
                                                                                                                        that possibly happened in the past.







               PRESENT POSSIBILITY
                                                        “MIGHT” + BASE FORM






                                                                                                                        These constructions can be used to
                                                                                                                        talk about some thing that possibly
                FUTURE POSSIBILITY          “MIGHT” + “BASE FORM” + FUTURE TIME                                         did not happen in the past.









         FURTHER EXAMPLES
                                                                                             TIP
                                                                                       Questions with “might”           “Could not” can only be used
                                                                                        are only used in very           when the speaker is certain that
                                                                                          formal English.               something did not happen.



                           “Not” always comes after
                           “might” to form the negative.





        166                                                                                                                                                                                                         167




   166-167_Unit_62_Possibility.indd   166                                                            22/07/2016   16:23  166-167_Unit_62_Possibility.indd   167                                                    08/08/2016   15:45
   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173