* "May you stand up". 🤔 You don't usually use "may" to tell someone to do something. It's usually it used to ask permission (May I stand up?) or express possibility (I may go for a walk tomorrow.) * "Can you stand up". (You need a question mark here!) This is fine if you want somebody or a group of people to stand up. e.g. a teacher talking to a class of pupils. As another poster suggested this might mean: are you able to stand up. (e.g. if you were talking to someone with a physical disability) What is the difference between those two sentences? The second one is ok; the first one is not...

Hi, Viwe. I've been working with my young nieces who are still trying to get a good grasp of English. Although "may" and "can" both are words that ask for permission. We never use "may" when referring to someone else's permission to do something. We do, sometimes say, "[...] If you may" but it is a bit of an archaic phrase that still plays to the rules of may being possessed by the target of the sentence. TL:DR: May is only used when referring to the ability/permission to do something.

"May you stand up" is more like a humble request for one to stand on their feet. The possible response here is a person simply doing as asked. "Can you stand up" sort of questions one's ability to stand on their own to feet. Possible response here is "Yes, I can stand up. My legs are fine" or "No, I cannot stand up. I cannot feel my legs". I hope this helps 😊