May not and might not: possibly not

May and might do not change for person: I may not, she may not, we might not. In the basic pattern, not follows the modal and the next verb takes its base form, without to, -s, or do-support: may not arrive, might not know, may not be.

With be, the construction describes the possible absence of a state, location, or property: The room might not be free. With another verb, it describes the possible absence of an action or result: The parcel may not arrive today.

An adverb can refine the idea, but keep natural word order: She may still not know the address; The document might not be ready yet. At A2, reliably maintaining modal + not + V1 matters more than building complex sequences.

For present meanings, we often use may/might not be + location or adjective: The manager may not be upstairs; The printer might not be ready. Might does not make these sentences past.

For the future, may/might not precedes a base-form action with a time expression: We may not finish by five; The guests might not stay for dinner. Preserve by five and for dinner because they define the scope of the possible negative outcome.

The negation may have a narrow scope. The train might not arrive before noon does not assert that the train will never arrive; it may arrive at noon or later. Do not extend not beyond what the sentence supports.

Might not has the standard contraction mightn’t: It mightn’t work on an older phone. The full form might not is clear across registers; the contraction is possible but less usual in many contexts. The practice accepts both where the particular form is not itself the target.

For may, the neutral modern form is may not. Oxford records mayn’t but explicitly notes that it is hardly used in modern English; the BBC also describes it as unusual. An A2 learner should therefore consistently write may not while recognising that the rare mayn’t can occur.

Do not claim that every rare contraction is entirely nonexistent. If a task tests neutral contemporary wording specifically, it states that requirement; otherwise, assess meaning and form rather than inventing a universal prohibition.

In a speculative context, The museum may not open on Monday means that it is possible the museum will not open. But in a rule or official notice, Visitors may not enter means that visitors are not allowed to enter. One form has two meanings, so consider the situation, not just the words may not.

Mustn’t also expresses prohibition, while can’t often expresses impossibility, inability, or prohibition depending on context. Do not automatically replace may not/might not expressing uncertain negative possibility with mustn’t or can’t.

In an ordinary A2 possibility context, might not is not the standard way to impose a rule on others. It is therefore often useful for avoiding the ambiguity of may not between speculation and formal prohibition.

Mia might not come means that her coming remains possible, but her not coming is also possible. In a context of confirmed cancellation, Mia won’t come presents a much more certain negative outcome. Will/won’t has different functions, so teaching contrasts should always show the source of certainty.

Maybe Mia won’t come is a natural paraphrase of uncertainty: maybe has scope over the clause containing won’t. Mia probably won’t come expresses an expectation of a negative result. This is not a numerical scale; the words convey different speaker positions in a particular context.

That can’t be Mia means that the speaker rejects the possibility on the basis of evidence. Mia doesn’t work on Fridays describes a usual fact or schedule. May not/might not are not direct substitutes because they leave the particular conclusion uncertain.

This rule practises uncertain negation about a present state or future event. Affirmative may/might belongs to the preceding rule but is needed to contrast polarity. Past speculation with may/might not have + V3 is studied separately and is not a productive target here.

In a real message, a negative possibility often leads to a check or backup plan: The room might not be free, so I’ll check the booking. The decision does not turn the supposition into a fact; it merely accounts for the risk.

Preserve the scope of not, the time, the participants, and the object. If the prompt says “possibly not by five”, do not turn it into “definitely never”. If there is an official prohibition, do not explain it as a chance possibility.