Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - may

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: 'May' is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb. 1. You use may to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain. We may have some rain today... I may be back next year... I don’t know if they’ll publish it or not. They may... Scientists know that cancer may not show up for many years. = might MODAL c darkgreen]vagueness 2. You use may to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain. Civil rights officials say there may be hundreds of other cases of racial violence... = might MODAL c darkgreen]vagueness 3. You use may to indicate that something is sometimes true or is true in some circumstances. A vegetarian diet may not provide enough calories for a child’s normal growth... Up to five inches of snow may cover the mountains. = might MODAL 4. You use may have with a past participle when suggesting that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something. He may have been to some of those places... The chaos may have contributed to the deaths of up to 20 people... MODAL c darkgreen]vagueness 5. You use may in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important. I may be almost 50, but there’s not a lot of things I’ve forgotten... MODAL 6. You use may when you are mentioning a quality or fact about something that people can make use of if they want to. The bag has narrow straps, so it may be worn over the shoulder or carried in the hand... = can MODAL 7. You use may to indicate that someone is allowed to do something, usually because of a rule or law. You use may not to indicate that someone is not allowed to do something. Any two persons may marry in Scotland provided that both persons are at least 16 years of age on the day of their marriage... Adolescents under the age of 18 may not work in jobs that require them to drive. MODAL 8. You use may when you are giving permission to someone to do something, or when asking for permission. (FORMAL) Mr Hobbs? May we come in?... If you wish, you may now have a glass of milk... = can MODAL 9. You use may when you are making polite requests. (FORMAL) I’d like the use of your living room, if I may... May I come with you to Southampton?... = can MODAL c darkgreen]politeness 10. You use may when you are mentioning the reaction or attitude that you think someone is likely to have to something you are about to say. You know, Brian, whatever you may think, I work hard for a living... MODAL 11. You use may in expressions such as I may add and I may say in order to emphasize a statement that you are making. They spent their afternoons playing golf–extremely badly, I may add–around Loch Lomond... Both of them, I may say, are thoroughly reliable men. MODAL c darkgreen]emphasis 12. If you do something so that a particular thing may happen, you do it so that there is an opportunity for that thing to happen. ...the need for an increase in the numbers of surgeons so that patients may be treated as soon as possible... = can MODAL 13. People sometimes use may to express hopes and wishes. (FORMAL) Courage seems now to have deserted him. May it quickly reappear. MODAL: MODAL n v 14. be that as it may: see be may as well: see well MAY (Mays) May is the fifth month of the year in the Western calendar. N-VAR