Michael could cook eggs for them.     (But they were hurrying out to chase bears.)
 

MAY - Present

When we say may we either mean "allowed to do" or "will possibly do". "Will possibly do" means you are using it conditionally, which you will see in Lesson W.

So in the first usage, MAY means "allowed to." That is why we say, politely:
May I take your coat? Yes you may, and may I have your phone number? No you may not. MIGHT is another form of MAY, but it is almost always conditional. (Right...Lesson W.)

We are not allowed to use MAY in the Past....

Now, sit down. The Past form of MAY is "WAS/WERE ALLOWED TO" (S + WAS/WERE ALLOWED TO + V1) This is not our fault. We don't know whose fault it is. But if you use MAY in the Past you say (S + WAS/WERE ALLOWED TO + V1):
He was not allowed to come. OR
We were not allowed to drink.

We will be allowed to use May in the Future...

Still sitting down?  You can use MAY in two ways in the Future, and neither of them makes any sense at all. First you can put a time with MAY.

We may go to the park tomorrow. (This could also be conditional with an "if" clause. Later...:)

Or, without a time, you can say: We will be allowed to go to the park.

Had enough? Don't think so....Let's go to MUST, which has should, need to, have to, ought to.....You'll love MUST.