-gan boʻlishi mumkin

May Have Done

Level 4

Verb + -gan + boʻlishi mumkin = may have done: unutgan boʻlishi mumkin (he may have forgotten), xato qilgan boʻlishim mumkin (I may have made a mistake).

How It Works

Use this pattern when you are not sure whether something has already happened, but you think it is possible.

1. Building it
Take the verb stem, add -gan, then add boʻlish with a possessive ending, then mumkin:

  • unut- → unutgan boʻlishi mumkin (he or she may have forgotten)
  • ket- → ketgan boʻlishi mumkin (may have left)
  • eshit- → eshitgan boʻlishi mumkin (may have heard)

The main verb stays in the same -gan form for every person. Only boʻlish changes: boʻlishim (I), boʻlishing (you, familiar), boʻlishi (he, she, it), boʻlishimiz (we), boʻlishingiz (you, polite), boʻlishi or boʻlishlari (they). For example, Men xato qilgan boʻlishim mumkin means I may have made a mistake.

2. Past guess versus present or future guess
Compare it with -ishi mumkin:

  • U unutishi mumkin. He may forget. (later)
  • U unutgan boʻlishi mumkin. He may have forgotten. (already)

Words like allaqachon (already) and hali (yet) fit well with the past guess.

3. Two kinds of not
Where you put the negation changes the meaning:

  • U eshitmagan boʻlishi mumkin. He may not have heard. (a possibility)
  • U eshitgan boʻlishi mumkin emas. He cannot have heard. (you rule it out)

Put -ma- on the main verb for may not have. Put emas after mumkin for cannot have.

4. Other ways to guess about the past
This pattern sounds careful and neutral. You can also say unutgandir with -dir, unutgan boʻlsa kerak with -sa kerak (he must have forgotten, a stronger guess), or unutganga oʻxshaydi with -ganga oʻxshaydi (it looks like he forgot).

Examples (6)

  1. U unutgan boʻlishi mumkin.

    He may have forgotten.

    Word by Word: He forgotten being possible.

  2. Kalitni mashinada qoldirgan boʻlishingiz mumkin.

    You may have left the key in the car.

    Word by Word: Key-(obj.) car-in left being-your possible.

    The polite you ending goes on boʻlish: boʻlishingiz.

  3. Men xato qilgan boʻlishim mumkin.

    I may have made a mistake.

    Word by Word: I mistake made being-my possible.

  4. Yer hoʻl. Kechasi yomgʻir yogʻgan boʻlishi mumkin.

    The ground is wet. It may have rained in the night.

    Word by Word: Ground wet. At-night rain fallen being-its possible.

  5. Ular xatni hali olmagan boʻlishi mumkin.

    They may not have received the letter yet.

    Word by Word: They letter-(obj.) yet not-received being-its possible.

    The negative -ma- sits on the main verb: olmagan.

  6. Poyezd allaqachon ketgan boʻlishi mumkin.

    The train may have already left.

    Word by Word: Train already left being-its possible.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -ishi mumkin when you mean that something may already have happened.

    Uyda hech kim yoʻq. Ular kinoga ketishi mumkin.
    Uyda hech kim yoʻq. Ular kinoga ketgan boʻlishi mumkin.

    Ketishi mumkin means they may go later. Nobody is home now, so the guess is about the past: ketgan boʻlishi mumkin, they may have gone.

  • Putting emas after mumkin when you mean may not have.

    U xabarni eshitgan boʻlishi mumkin emas, shuning uchun unga yana ayting.
    U xabarni eshitmagan boʻlishi mumkin, shuning uchun unga yana ayting.

    This sentence is grammatical, but mumkin emas rules the idea out: it says he cannot have heard. If you only mean that he possibly did not hear, make the main verb negative: eshitmagan boʻlishi mumkin.

  • Leaving boʻlishi in the third person when the subject is I.

    Men xato qilgan boʻlishi mumkin.
    Men xato qilgan boʻlishim mumkin.

    The person is shown on boʻlish. With men it must be boʻlishim, just as you say kelishim mumkin (I may come).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-gan boʻlishi mumkinLevel 4May Have Done

Learn This First

Builds on Might: -ishi mumkin and The Past Participle -gan.

Words in This Pattern

mumkinboʻlmoq