‘I may work from home tomorrow,’ or ‘I might work from home tomorrow.’ Which is correct?

In my opinion, they are not entirely interchangeable – they have slightly different meanings, depending on the context. But before we explore this further, let’s define 'may' and 'might' grammatically.

Modal verbs

‘May’ and ‘might’ are both ‘modal verbs’ – also called ‘modal auxiliary’ or ‘modal helping’ verbs, or simply ‘modals’.

There are other modals besides ‘may’ and ‘might’. These include:

• can
• could
• shall
• should
• will
• would
• must

The 9 verbs are often known as the ‘core modals’.

Modals at work

Modals never change their form, no matter the context.

In a declarative sentence, the modal verb is always followed immediately by the basic form of the main verb. The basic form is the infinitive form¹ of the main verb without the ‘to’ – so, ‘work’, not ‘to work’.

In the sentence, ‘I may work at home’:

• ‘I’ is the subject of the sentence
• ‘may’ is the modal
• ‘work’ is the basic form of the main verb.

But in a question, the modal verb swaps places with the subject.

In the question, ‘May I work from home?’:

• the modal ‘may’ swaps places with the subject of the question, ‘I’
• ‘May I’ is followed immediately by ‘work’, the basic form of the main verb.

Modals and the basic form of main verbs combine to refer to potential events rather than actual events.

Possibility and its friends

So, which version of my sentence is correct – may or might?

Modals have lots of functions. It’s about choosing the modal verb that matches your meaning (and how you feel at the time – but more on that in a minute).

Modals express one or more of the following:

• possibility
• ability
• permission
• advice
• necessity.

If I write ‘I may work from home tomorrow’, I mean that it’s possible and probably allowable, but not entirely certain that I’ll do so. Perhaps it depends on the weather or my manager’s wishes.

And if I write ‘I might work from home tomorrow’, I introduce a stronger feeling of uncertainty about it. Perhaps I don’t get permission from my manager, or my dodgy internet connection fails.

If I write ‘Can you help me on my project?’, I mean that I’m positive about your ability. But I just don’t know if you have permission or the time to help.

But if I write ‘Could you help me on my project?’, I mean that I’m uncertain. I’m unsure if you have the ability to help or want to help. ‘Could’ feels a lot more uncertain than ‘can’.

Modal choice

At least, that’s how I feel, what I mean, and how I view the situation as I write these sentences.

Which leads us to an important function of modals.

At the time we speak or write, we’ll choose the modal verb that reflects our:

• feelings
• intention
• point of view.

Feeling, intention and point of view

It’s true. If you’re in a bad mood, you’ll express yourself differently from when everything is hunky-dory! Maybe your intention is to let someone know they have an obligation (‘must’, ‘should’). And in government circles, you sometimes need to write to reflect your manager’s viewpoint rather than your own.

This aspect of modals makes it difficult to choose one ‘correct’ modal verb for any given sentence. It also means that I hesitate to describe a writer’s choice of modal verb as ‘incorrect’.

And there’s more to consider

English is changing all the time, and English grammar is changing with it. Sometimes, there’s a tendency to start dropping words and letting one do the work of two or more. My observation is that this is particularly true in questions.

In these questions, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘can’ and ‘could’ all have similar jobs to do as modals: to express possibility, ability and so on. The tendency is to use one modal verb to mean any of those expressions and drop the rest from our vocabulary.

So, in everyday speech and writing we tend to use one of these:

• May I work at home today?
• Might I work at home today?
• Can I work at home today?
• Could I work at home today?

For formal speech and writing, I stick to all 4 versions, each having a slightly different connotation from the others. It depends on how I’m feeling or viewing the situation at the time.

Suppose I say, ‘May I leave the room, please?’ It’s less formal to say, ‘Can I leave the room, please?’, while meaning exactly the same thing.

Even sticklers for clarity like me find ‘might’ a bit over the top in such a question: ‘Might I leave the room, please?’

With other modals, ‘Could I leave the room, please?’ implies, for me, a touch more politeness than ‘Can I leave the room, please?’ But purists usually like ‘might’ here.

I use ‘might’, but not in questions. I’ll happily say or write: ‘I might post a longer article next time’. I’m implying that my next blog post will, just possibly, be a bit longer than this one – but there’s no guarantee!

And that opens up a whole can of worms. There are other modals that we may, could, will discuss at another time. Perhaps I’ll do so in that longer article that may, might or should be written.

Notes

¹ Verbs have several forms including the infinitive form (to be, to sit, to work).

References

Seely J (2020) Oxford a–z of grammar and punctuation, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Tredinnick M (2008) The little green grammar book, UNSW Press, Sydney.