Podcast: Errors native speakers make that we should learn IV!

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Hello, everybody!

Here we are again with another inFlux Podcast. In our last posts, we talked about errors native speakers of English make regarding to spelling and also speaking. By now, we came down to: it’s normal, it’s ok, not to speak the same way we write, and also, it’s common to miswrite some words. Once we realize that, we should be less afraid to speak English, considering that even people who speak English as their first language say and write things that might be grammatically wrong.

Let’s learn another situation here, then. The combination of the two words “might have”, in spoken English, is often shortened to the contracted form “might’ve” that is pronounced as “might uvh”. When native speakers listen to it, they tend to write “might of” with “of”, as it sounds pretty much the same. Sometimes you’ll hear “mighta”, which is a shorter way to say “might’ve”.

Now, you guys are going to listen to some examples of sentences using “might have”: 

There might’ve been some misunderstanding here, I ordered fish not steak! Pode ser que tenha havido algum mal entendido aqui, eu pedi peixe e não carne.

I might’ve been wrong… Pode ser que eu estivesse errado…

He might’ve overslept again. Pode ser que ele tenha dormido além da hora novamente.

She looks tired, she might’ve been awake all night. Ela parece cansada, pode ser que ela tenha ficado acordada a noite toda.

Don’t eat that! It might’ve gone bad. Não coma isso! Pode ser que esteja estragado!

Oh, no… I think we might’ve taken the wrong road. Ah, não… Pode ser que a gente tenha pegado o caminho errado.

I might’ve learned that before, but now I just can’t remember. Pode ser que eu tenha aprendido isso antes, mas agora não consigo me lembrar.

There are also a few expressions with the combination “might have” and they are definitely worth learning. The expression might-have-beens is used to express the idea of things that could have happened but didn’t. We even have a post about it! Listen:

I am not concerned with the might-have-beens but with the facts. Não estou preocupado com as coisas que poderiam ter acontecido, mas sim com fatos.

It’s also common to use this expression meaning “não adianta chorar pelo leite derramado”, but then you’ll see it like this:

There’s no point now in regretting the might-have-beens. Bem, agora não adianta chorar pelo leite derramado.

Try to practice now. Listen to people talking and make your own examples! See you in our next post! 

Bye for now!