May: forms
Affirmative (+) form
Maycomes first in the verb phrase (after the subject and before another verb):
Itmaybe possible for him to get home tonight.
Maycan’t be used with another modal verb:
Thismayhurt you.
Not:This may could hurt you. orThis could may hurt you.
Negative (−) form
The negative form ofmayismay not. We don’t usedon’t/doesn’t/didn’twithmay:
Wemay nothave enough information at the moment.
Not:We don’t may have enough information at the moment.
We don’t usemayn’tas the contracted form ofmay not:
Wemay notyet know what is safe to eat.
Not:We mayn’t yet know what is safe to eat.
See also:
Modal verbs
Question (?) form
The subject andmaychange position to form questions. We don’t usedo/does/did:
Maywe drop you at your hotel?
Not:Do we may drop you at your hotel?
MayI leave the room, please?
Not:Do I may leave the room please?
May: uses
Permission
We usemayto ask for, give and refuse permission. It is quite formal.
asking for permission | giving permission | refusing permission |
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Can, couldandmayare all used to ask for permission.Mayis the most formal/polite andcouldis more formal and polite thancan.
See also:
Can,couldormay?
Requests
Possibility
We usemayto refer to weak possibility in the present and future:
The economymaygo up or down in the next year.(I think both are possible, the economy going up or the economy going down. I am not making either one a strong possibility.)
I think Imaygo to the doctor today and try to get some antibiotics.(I am not very sure yet if I will go to the doctor.)
General truths
We usemayin formal writing, especially academic English, to describe things which the speaker thinks are generally true or possible. In this case, it is a more formal equivalent ofcan.
| Both sentences express what the speaker believes to be a general truth about where the cottage is located. The speaker knows that there is a cottage in the museum and a visitor is able to see them there if they want to.Mayis more formal. |
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See also:
Hedges (just)
Accepting a different view or opinion
We often usemayto accept a different view or opinion, especially withwell, and/or followed bybut:
One monthmaywell be too long to go away on holiday.
Imaybe wrong but I am going to tell the police about it.
The couchmaywell cost more but it’s going to be different.