Revised as of
20 Jan 2023
It may be that I’m being particularly picky, or it may be that . . . sigh . . . this is the English language, lol. To be fair, this confusion is, um, confusing. Your best bet is to remember that may be conveys the idea of possible while maybe is a perhaps. It also may be that I’m overly obsessed, aaannnd maybe I’m not.
The simple trick to check if may be is correct is to try possible or could be or would be or might be in place of may be. If it makes sense, the usage is correct. For example, “Driving a car may be easier than riding a bike.” Change the words to “Driving a car could be easier than riding a bike”, and it does make sense.
As for maybe, try perhaps.
| May Be | Maybe |
|---|---|
| . . . and may be a plumber.
Sounds like someone’s wondering if this person is a plumber. |
. . . and maybe a plumber.
This version sounds like they might need a plumber. |
| I may be going out tonight
I’m not sure if I’m going out; it’s a possibility. |
Maybe I will go out tonight.
Perhaps I’ll go out tonight. |
| She may be running late.
She might be running late. |
Maybe she’s running late.
It’s possible that she’s late because of . . . |
| Don’t worry, your book may be here tomorrow.
It’s possible that your book might be here tomorrow. |
I thought my new book would have arrived by today. Maybe it will be here tomorrow.
Perhaps it will be here tomorrow. |
| It may be that the snow will stop tomorrow.
The snow might stop tomorrow. |
Maybe it will stop snowing by tomorrow.
Perhaps it will stop snowing by tomorrow. |
| It may be that all we can do is hope for the best.
Possibly we can only hope . . . Or, it might be the best we can do. |
Maybe we can hope
I dunno, but perhaps there’s a chance. |
Another trick is to speak it out loud. If a pause feels natural, if it sounds right for the words to be separate, then I separate them.
You may want to explore “Can versus May“, “May versus Might“, and possibly “Might’a not be a Could’a, Would’a, Should’a” and “Might versus Mite“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “May Be versus Maybe” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| May Be | Maybe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tomorrow May Be Too Late is courtesy of Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. (03/09/1943 – 09/15/1945). |
U.S. Air Force Honor Guard by U.S. Air Force is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — No maybe about it, it’s a Thanksgiving Day parade, so we’ll see Santa. |
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| Part of Grammar: | |||||
Verb phrase
|
Compound word
Adverb; Noun Plural: maybes |
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| Possibility *
Might be Could be Could happen Would be |
Adverb: Perhaps Possibly Noun: Choice |
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| * There is a conflict over possibility. One argument states that may be can be defined as while.
While maybe is strictly perhaps while another argument says that maybe is more about choice and yet another argument has maybe hogging both possible and perhaps. |
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| Examples: | |||||
| Glasses may be the better choice.
It may be that I don’t know what I’m doing. We may be able to visit the king. |
Adverb: Maybe this was the wrong job to accept. Maybe I won’t go back. Maybe she’d been wrong to accept this job. Maybe we can visit the king. Noun: There are so many maybes involved in playing the stock market. It’s better to receive a fast and honest no than a drawn-out maybe. |
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| History of the Word: | |||||
| Unknown. | 1375–1425; late Middle English may be, short for it may be. | ||||
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for May Be versus Maybe
Apple Dictionary.com
Burckmyer, Becky. Awesome Grammar. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2008. Print. 113
“Difference Between Maybe and May Be.” >Difference Between.net. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.differencebetween.net/language/grammar-language/difference-between-maybe-and-may-be/#ixzz33CsXwiu9>.
The Free Dictionary: maybe
Shrives, Craig. “May Be or Maybe?” Grammar Monster. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/maybe_may_be.htm#1Pe2lICkfHxHbswF.99>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
B-24 Kopfstand was photographed by an employee of the U.S. government and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
