grammar · neutral

might have + past participle

Band 5-6speakingtask2

Used to speculate about a possible event in the past; it shows uncertainty about what actually happened.

Examples

“She might have missed the bus; that's why she's late.”

“They might have left early because the meeting finished quickly.”

“I might have forgotten to lock the door.”

Band 8 sentence

“Given the lack of emails, they might have decided to postpone the launch without informing the press.”

Collocations

  • might have + past participle
  • might have + been + -ing

Word family

could have + past participle grammarmust have + past participle grammar

Common mistakes

She might be missed the bus.→She might have missed the bus.

He might has left early.→He might have left early.

Say it for a higher band

5may have + past participle→6could have + past participle→7+might have + past participle

Synonyms

could have

Easily confused

could have / must have / should have + past participle

“He could have reached earlier if he hadn't missed the train.”

Related words

have / has + past participlesubject + V(s) (simple present)be about to + base verbbe + V-ingso + adjective/adverb + that + clauseIf + present perfect, will + base verbNot only + clause, but also + clausewill have been + V-ing

Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.

In Tenses

Learn it with its set