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Gosz Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
'may be' instead of 'maybe'
Hi,
I've got a question, mainly to those of you who teach English.
It is quite a common mistake to write 'may be' instead of 'maybe' - what type of mistake would you count it as: a spelling mistake, or just wrong word choice?
I've got a question, mainly to those of you who teach English.
It is quite a common mistake to write 'may be' instead of 'maybe' - what type of mistake would you count it as: a spelling mistake, or just wrong word choice?
Top answer
Both may be and maybe are correct, but can be misused. May be is used when "may" is an auxiliary (modal) verb: This may be the road to the farm, but it could be that other road too.. Maybe is an adverb, meaning perhaps.
- Both may be and maybe are correct, but can be misused.
- May be is used when "may" is an auxiliary (modal) verb: This may be the road to the farm, but it could be that other road too..
- Maybe is an adverb, meaning perhaps.
- Maybe I will join you later.
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4 Answers
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Both may be and maybe are correct, but can be misused.
May be is used when "may" is an auxiliary (modal) verb: This may be the road to the farm, but it could be that other road too..
Maybe is an adverb, meaning perhaps. Maybe I will join you later.
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May be is used when "may" is an auxiliary (modal) verb: This may be the road to the farm, but it could be that other road too..
Maybe is an adverb, meaning perhaps. Maybe I will join you later.
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Thanks, AlpheccaStars, I know the uses and grammatical differences; I just have a problem with classyfing the mistake.
I have to correct my students' written assignments and someone has made the mistake of using 'may be' when 'maybe' should have been used. Now, when marking the paper, I have to not only point out the mistakes but also classify them. I am now hesitating over whether I should c
I have to correct my students' written assignments and someone has made the mistake of using 'may be' when 'maybe' should have been used. Now, when marking the paper, I have to not only point out the mistakes but also classify them. I am now hesitating over whether I should c
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Sorry gosz, I misinterpreted your post.
With no other information, I would classify the mistake as a grammatical error, using an adverb in place of a finite verb phrase (or vice versa).
It might be your judgement to make a call for a spelling error. If the student has used it correctly in other places in the text, demonstrating a knowledge of the difference in usage, I would count it as
With no other information, I would classify the mistake as a grammatical error, using an adverb in place of a finite verb phrase (or vice versa).
It might be your judgement to make a call for a spelling error. If the student has used it correctly in other places in the text, demonstrating a knowledge of the difference in usage, I would count it as
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