‘May’ Oui

Written By Unsettled

Someone wondered about the difference between “can” and “may”, so I replied with this:

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"May" refers to permission.

  • You may borrow my laptop, sure. It’s fine with me.

  • You may not borrow US$1,000,000 from me, because I don't have that much money.

“Can” is related to ability.

  • You can hold a conversation in your native language. – you’re a native speaker, after all.

  • You cannot fly to the Moon. (Probably….)

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"Can" and "may" are often confused, even by native English speakers. But if you remember that "may" = permission, and "can" = ability, it will help you avoid making this mistake. (If either of them could be used logically, choose the one that makes more sense.)

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A popular correction/joke made by teachers (and hated by students) goes like this: If a student needs to use the restroom and asks, "Can I use the restroom?", the teacher will respond, "I dunno – can you?"

The grammatically correct question the student wants to ask is, "May I use the restroom?" – the student wants permission to leave the classroom. However, by using "can", the student is asking the teacher if he or she (the student) is physically able to use the restroom. (Basically the student is asking: "Do I know how to use the restroom?")

"Can I have some of your chocolate?" has the same problem. Sure, you're able to. You just pick it up and eat it. We do this all the time, at every meal. It’s easy; we don't even need help. But the question should be: "May I have some of your chocolate?"

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Or you can say nothing and just take the chocolate....

終

Unsettled
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