May

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See also May, máy, and mấy

English[edit | edit source]

Most common English words: very « upon « man « #70: may » about » its » time

Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

enPR: mā, IPA: /meɪ/, SAMPA: /meI/
Audio (US) noicon
(file)
Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1[edit | edit source]

Old English magan, from Germanic. Cognate with Dutch mogen, German mögen, Icelandic mega.

Verb[edit | edit source]

Infinitive
-

Third person singular
may

Simple past
might

Past participle
-

Present participle
-

- (third-person singular simple present may, present participle -, simple past might, past participle -)

(modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.
You may smoke outside.

May I sit there?
(modal auxiliary verb, defective) Possibly, but not certainly.
He may be lying.
(subjunctive present, defective) Expressing something that is possibly true.
come what may
(subjunctive present, defective) Expressing wish or blessing.
May you win. May the weather be sunny.

Usage notes[edit | edit source]

May is a defective verb. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. Forms of to be allowed to are used to replace these missing tenses.
The simple past (both indicative and subjunctive) of may is might
The present tense is negated as may not, which can be contracted to mayn't, although this is old-fashioned; the simple past is negated as might not, which can be contracted to mightn't.
May has archaic second-person singular present indicative forms mayest and mayst.
Usage of this word in the sense of possibly is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, as it blurs the meaning of the word in the sense have permission to. These speakers and writers prefer to use the word might instead.
Usage of this word in the sense of wish is often unstated, as in (may you) Have a great day!.

Synonyms[edit | edit source]

(have permission to): can, could, might
(possibly): could, might
(in subjunctive): might

Derived terms[edit | edit source]

Translations[edit | edit source]

have permission to

American Sign Language: [[S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown-S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown S@Chesthigh-PalmDown-S@Chesthigh-PalmDown#Template:Ase|S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown-S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown S@Chesthigh-PalmDown-S@Chesthigh-PalmDown]]
Arabic: استطاع (istaṭāʻa), ممكن (múmkin) lit.: possible
Chinese: 可以 (kěyǐ)
Czech: smět cs(cs)
Danish: må da(da)
Dutch: mogen nl(nl)
Finnish: voida fi(fi), saada fi(fi)
French: pouvoir fr(fr)
German: dürfen de(de), mögen de(de), könnten de(de)
Greek: μπορώ (boró), επιτρέπεται (epitrépete)
Hungarian: szabad hu(hu)
Icelandic: mega, mátt

Indonesian: boleh / dapat / bisa
Italian: potere it(it)
Japanese: してもいい (shité mo íi)
Korean: 할 수 있다 (hal su itda)
Norwegian: kan no(no), får no(no), må no(no)
Persian: تَوانِستَن (tævānestæn)
Polish: móc pl(pl)
Portuguese: poder pt(pt)
Russian: мочь ru(ru) (moč’), можно ru(ru) (móžno) (predicative)
Spanish: poder es(es)
Swedish: få sv(sv), kunna sv(sv), kan sv(sv)
Tagalog: maaari, puwede

possibly, but not certainly

American Sign Language: [[S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown-S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown S@Chesthigh-PalmDown-S@Chesthigh-PalmDown#Template:Ase|S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown-S@Sternumhigh-PalmDown S@Chesthigh-PalmDown-S@Chesthigh-PalmDown]]
Chinese: 可能 (kěnéng) may be, possible
Czech: moci (moct)
Danish: måske da(da)
Dutch: misschien may be; He may be lying — Hij liegt misschien
Finnish: voida fi(fi), saattaa fi(fi)
French: peut-être, il se peut que + subjunctive; He may be lying — Il ment peut-être, Il se peut qu’il mente.
Greek: ίσως el(el), μάλλον el(el)
Hungarian: lehet hu(hu)
Icelandic: geta is(is)

Indonesian: mungkin / barangkali / bisa jadi / bisa saja
Italian: forse, può essere che + subjunctive; He may be lying — Forse sta mentendo, Può essere che stia mentendo
Japanese: 多分 (たぶん, tábun), かも知れない (かもしれない, kamo shirenai)
Norwegian: kan være, also expressed with adv. kanskje; He may be lying - Det kan være han lyver/Kanskje han lyver
Persian: شایَد fa(fa) (šāyæd)
Polish: móc pl(pl)
Portuguese: poder pt(pt)
Russian: может быть (móžet bytʹ) may be, мочь (moč’)
Swedish: kan sv(sv), kanske sv(sv)
Tagalog: maaari, puwede

subjunctive

Dutch: mogen nl(nl); come what may - komen wat komen moge
French: use subjunctive of pouvoir

Italian: use subjunctive of potere
Swedish: må, or rarely, -e

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Hungarian: lehet; You may smoke outside — Kivul dohányozhat.; May I sit there? — Oda ülhetnék?; He may be lying — Lehet, hogy hazudik.
Ido: forsan (4, 5), darfas (1, 2)
Polish: możliwe, że (2); He may be lying - Możliwe, że on kłamie.
Romanian: putea
Spanish: poder