MAY


Meaning of MAY in English

modal verb

BAD : If I hadn't seen the car coming, I may have been killed.

GOOD : If I hadn't seen the car coming, I might have been killed.

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To refer to something in the past that was possible but did not actually happen, use might have or could have (NOT may have ): 'If you had worked harder, you might have passed the exam.'

Compare: 'I may have left it at home - I'm not sure.'

Longman Common Errors English vocabulary.      Английский словарь распространенных ошибок Longman.