The difference between "Never get into" and "Never come into"

CalifJim

MoonriseRegarding "May", as I understand, it's not always about permission.

Possibility and permission are the two main uses. Of the two, possibility is the most frequently used.

— Where is Peter?
— I don't know. He may be at the library.
(It is possible that he is at the library. / Maybe he's at the library.)

— May I open the window?
— Yes. Please do. It's getting stuffy in here.
(Will you give me permission to open the window?)

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That said, we never ask "May you ...?".

For possibility: Do you think you may/might ...?
For permission: Are you allowed to ...?

CJ

At first, thank you for paying my attention to this point. I always thought that this is one of the easiest rule in English. I might need to modify my understanding regarding its usage, though.

Based on my understanding, "May" is comprehensive in a way that can be used for asking others politely to do something. And based on the context, we could tell whether it's a permission, possibility or just asking politely others to do something. For instance, "May I have your name, please?" instead of "What's your name?" Or "Could you give me your name, please?"

Frankly, it crossed my mind to use "Can you rephrase the sentence...etc" although "Could", that you stated, sounds better but, I haven't used it because I knew you can.

"Could" haven't crossed my mind even though it's really suitable to that context.

When I used "May" in that context, I felt it gave the meaning of possibility (Is it possible? Could you?) and asking respectfully to do something (Do this) in the same time. I guess I use it a lot especially in writing. It just flows as smooth as water. You don't feel the meaning in the same way, right?

Now, I'd like to to make sure of my understanding.

It would be wrong to say "May I have your name?" Or "May you give me your name again?" when I don't mean "permission", right?

Thanks a lot