Can versus May
Grammar plays a very crucial role in writing part and it is very important to keep our sentences grammatically correct. Sometimes we often came across such term and this irritates us. In this article we are going to deal with such two terms only namely can and may.
In this article we are going to see meanings of the term described above and also we are going to use them in sentence making for better understanding.
Use of the term can and may in sentence making
Can |
May |
Can as a verb |
May as a verb |
Term often refers used to express the ability or permission to do something
Use in sentences Even though I was only five years old, I can read simple sentences fluently.
After months of practice, Sam and I can play the piano piece flawlessly.
Despite her fear of heights, I discovered that I can climb a rock wall with determination and focus.
According to Sam with proper training, anyone can learn to swim confidently in deep water. |
Term used to express permission or the granting of authority
Use in sentences May I borrow your umbrella? It looks like it may rain asked Sam.
Employees may request time off for personal reasons with prior approval from their supervisor namely Sam.
Visitors may take photographs inside the museum, but please avoid using flash as per the orders of Sam
May I kindly ask if I may have a moment of your time to discuss an important matter? |
Important note
As in the above segment of the article we have seen the meaning of both the words and created sentences using both the terms. As it is clearly visible to us that indeed both terms are different and they cannot be used interchangeably at all. So it is very important to remember the difference between both the terms and for that we can use a simple trick
Try to remember this sentences as May is more polite than can. May is for permission and can is for showing ability.
After acknowledging difference between both the terms let’s now proceed to correct pronunciation of both the terms.
May is pronounced as meɪ
Can is pronounced as kæn
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Summary
As to quickly summarize what we have learnt in this article first we learned the meaning of both term as term can is for showing ability to do something and term May is for asking permission. We also framed sentences using both the terms, learnt a simple trick to remember the difference between both the terms and at last we learned about correct pronunciation of both the terms.
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