Welcome to Six minute Grandma with me, Sophie on with me, Neil.

Hello.

Today's program is all about the words May might on dhe could.

Yes, we'll look at how to use thes three little words to talk about present on future possibilities.

We'll tell you what to watch out for.

We'll give you a top tip to make your spoken English sound really natural.

Andi will finish with a quiz, so listen carefully now.

The first thing to say about May might and could is that they're often followed by an infinitive verb without too Aunt.

Here's Catherine.

Hello, Hello to bring us our first example.

Katherine, what are you having for dinner tonight?

Well, I may make chicken curry.

Sounds good.

All I might have steak even better.

Or I could get a takeaway.

No, very healthy, but very convenient.

So tonight Catherine may have chicken.

She might have steak.

She could get a takeaway.

May might end.

Could with an infinitive show.

All three options are future possibilities.

Good Now, those examples were about future possibilities.

Katherine's dinner tonight, but we can also use May might and could with an infinitive to talk about present possibilities like this.

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, right?

So that's present on future possibilities.

Now, we can also, uh hello, groups.

Sorry.

Wrong studio.

Who was that?

I'm not sure.

She may be from my tea.

Or she might be the new presenter.

She could be the new studio manager.

We're all guessing.

Yes.

Well, anyway, as I was about to say, we often use May might and could to make guesses to BBC learning English.

And we're talking about May might and could now, for negatives we use might not or may not.

So we can say I might know Cook chicken curry.

I fake that woman's the new studio manager, but she may not be the short form of Might not is mightn't, but this is not so usual and some people shortened may not make it, but that's unusual too.

Now we promised you a word off warning we did on Dhere.

It is the negative off.

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?

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 if the weather gets worse, outplaying could take off late.

We might not take off a tour.

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 uncertain situation in the future.

So you can't use couldn't in our airport example.

So watch out for couldn't yes, stick with Might not or may not.

If you want to play it safe here 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 so?

You can say, Might Katherine have chicken curry for dinner?

But it sounds more natural to say.

Do you think Katherine might have chicken curry for dinner?

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

Sophie only think we could be ready for our quiz number one, which is the correct answer to the question.

Where you going?

On holiday?

Is it a I'm a to go to Spain for B.

I may go to Spain.

It's B.

I may go to Spain.

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.

It's a The traffic is getting worse.

So I may not be home on time on the last one.

Which sounds more natural, eh?

Might we have to go now or be?

Do you think we might have to go now?

It's be Do you think we might have to go now?

Well done.

If you got those right And yes, we do have to go now.

There's more about this on our website at BBC learning english dot com, join us again for MME.