MAY is used to indicate possibility. 'Might' and 'Could' are also used in this sense. 'May' is more formal than the two:
1. That may happen if we are careless.
2. That could be harmful to your health.
3. He might not be the culprit.
'May' is used in formal situations to give permission.
4. You may go now
Can on the other hand is less formal
5. You can go now.
May not is a negative in the 'permission' sense but not in the 'possibility' sense.
6. You may not remove the books from this rack.
(= you are not permitted to...)
7. She may not care to report back to you.
(= it is possible that she will not care to report...)
Might is used to express possibility which may be theoretical or factual. 'Might' expresses lack of certainity and also implies greater reserve on the part of the speaker:
8. We might visit them today.
when we want to question or negate possibility we use 'can', not 'may'
9. Can this happen in a city too?
10. That can be done today.
'May' is also used to express a wish:
11. I hope he may succeed.
12. May god bless you!
Can and Could are mainly used to indicate ability, skill, awareness or capability.
13. He could be a very unpleasant neighbour.
14. I can see only bold letters, not the small ones.
15. They can go without food for atleast a week.
16. You could do it then, I don't think you can do it now.
'Can' and 'could' are also used to express instructions, appeals and requests. While making an appeal 'could' is more polite than 'would'.
17. Could you please sign here?
18. Could you explain it again?
19. Can you help me get this out of my cuupboard?
Here 'could' is more polite than 'can'. The addition of an adverb like possibly and perhaps will render the request more polite. can't and couldn't will be more appealing and persuasive than 'can' and 'could'
20. Can't we go together?
21. Couldn't we do it next week?
'couldn't' is used to indicate strong assertion by comparison.
22. She couldn't be more accurate
(= she is very accurate...)
23. The weather couldn't have been better.
(= the weather is excellent..)
नये साल की सुबह के साथ, आपकी ज़िंदगी भी उजालों से भर जाएँ-यही दुआ करेंगे. नया साल आपको ओर आपके परिवार को बहुत मुबारक हो.
Hi, I'm Neal. I'm quiet new to this site and have seen that people here are quite Introvert. Wouldn't it be cool If we share about what's happening around us or any Incident/experience that might have happened with us in our native language so that it forms a basis for others to learn and understand the language too?
मैं जानना चाहता हूँ कि लोग मेरे देश (इंडिया/भारत) के बारे में क्या अभिप्राय रखते हैं?
(I wish to know people's perspective about my country India)
आप हिन्दी क्यूँ सीखना चाहते हैं?
(Why you wish to Learn Hindi)
It's for Hindi learners and I will be glad to hear different perspectives about my country. Better If you try answering it in Hindi but it's no compulsion though. Feel free to comment :)..
