politeness You use may when you are making polite requests. I'd like the use of your living room, if I may May I come with you to Southampton? = can
People sometimes use may to express hopes and wishes. Courage seems now to have deserted him. May it quickly reappear
emphasis 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
be that as it may: see be may as well: see well. A peninsula of southern New Jersey between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. The southern tip forms Cape May Point. The blossoms of the hawthorn. the fifth month of the year, between April and June next/last May (mai, from Maius, from Maia Roman goddess). the white or pink flowers of the hawthorn. Alcott Louisa May Fifth of May May beetle Lessing Doris May Doris May Tayler May Day May Fourth Movement Gloria May Josephine Svensson
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
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
You use may to indicate that someone is allowed to do something, usually because of a rule or (Hukuk) 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
vagueness 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
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
May is the fifth month of the year in the Western calendar. May is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb
vagueness 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
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