grammar · neutral
may have + past participle
Band 7+task2speaking
used to speculate that something possibly happened in the past
Examples
“She may have missed the train.”
“They may have forgotten to reply.”
“He may have left already.”
Band 8 sentence
“Based on the empty office and her unread messages, she may have left the country.”
Collocations
- may have + past participle
- may well have + past participle
Word family
may have + past participle modal perfect
Common mistakes
He may has left.→He may have left.
She may of missed the bus.→She may have missed the bus.
Say it for a higher band
5might have→6could have→7+may have + past participle
Synonyms
might have + past participle
Easily confused
might have + past participle
“He might have taken the earlier train.”
Related words
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In Tenses
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