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Hector9 Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary
What's the difference between these words?
0 Hello buddies 02 img 
02 br
02 br
00 Well, I don't understand what's the difference between 'Perhaps' and 'Maybe', here are the meanings from my Collins Dictionary: 02 br
02 br
01 b 00 Perhaps 02 b 02 br
00 -adverb 02 br
02 br
00 You use 'Perhaps' when you are not sure whether something is true or possible. 02 br
02 br
00 EG. 01 i 00 It will cost hundreds, perhaps thousands, to repair. 02 br
02 i 00 EG. 01 i 00 Perhaps, in time, she'll understand. 02 i 02 br
02 br
01 b 00 Maybe 02 b 02 br
00 -adverb 02 br
02 br
00 You use 'maybe' to express uncertainty, for example when you do not know that something is definitely true. 02 br
02 br
00 EG. I met him once, maybe twice. 02 br
00 EG. Maybe I should lie about my age. 02 br
00 EG. "Will Gerard will be here?" 02 br
00 "Maybe not" 02 br
02 br
00 I don't see what are the differences between them, because I must use them when I'm not sure about something happens or will happen. 02 br
02 br
00 Am I right with these examples? (from myself) 02 br
02 br
00 John is not a engineer, maybe a technician. 02 br
00 Perhaps, but I'm not sure about that. 02 br
00 Perhaps, I may have a car. 02 br
02 br
00 Why sometimes people use 'Perhaps' and not 'Maybe'?? 02 br
02 br
00 Sorry about my English, and thanks in advance! 02 img
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02 br 02 br
00 Well, I don't understand what's the difference between 'Perhaps' and 'Maybe', here are the meanings from my Collins Dictionary: 02 br
02 br
01 b 00 Perhaps 02 b 02 br
00 -adverb 02 br
02 br
00 You use 'Perhaps' when you are not sure whether something is true or possible. 02 br
02 br
00 EG. 01 i 00 It will cost hundreds, perhaps thousands, to repair. 02 br
02 i 00 EG. 01 i 00 Perhaps, in time, she'll understand. 02 i 02 br
02 br
01 b 00 Maybe 02 b 02 br
00 -adverb 02 br
02 br
00 You use 'maybe' to express uncertainty, for example when you do not know that something is definitely true. 02 br
02 br
00 EG. I met him once, maybe twice. 02 br
00 EG. Maybe I should lie about my age. 02 br
00 EG. "Will Gerard will be here?" 02 br
00 "Maybe not" 02 br
02 br
00 I don't see what are the differences between them, because I must use them when I'm not sure about something happens or will happen. 02 br
02 br
00 Am I right with these examples? (from myself) 02 br
02 br
00 John is not a engineer, maybe a technician. 02 br
00 Perhaps, but I'm not sure about that. 02 br
00 Perhaps, I may have a car. 02 br
02 br
00 Why sometimes people use 'Perhaps' and not 'Maybe'?? 02 br
02 br
00 Sorry about my English, and thanks in advance! 02 img
0-Top answer
shtmlc this page from the BBC
- shtmlc this page from the BBC
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2 Answers
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0 Hi, 02 br
02 br
00 Somebody says there's no difference at all in meaning; only the register (= degree of formality) would be different. 02 br
00 You might read 05 1 00 or listen to an mp3 (there's a link at the very bottom of the page). 02 br
02 br
05 0 010id 1231href http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1535_questi
02 br
00 Somebody says there's no difference at all in meaning; only the register (= degree of formality) would be different. 02 br
00 You might read 05 1 00 or listen to an mp3 (there's a link at the very bottom of the page). 02 br
02 br
05 0 010id 1231href http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1535_questi
00
0 "Maybe" is more conversational and less likely to be used in formal writing, but other than that the two words are very often interchangeable -- as they are in all your dictionary examples. There might be some expressions in which only one of "maybe" or "perhaps" is idiomatic, but none immediately come to mind. 02 br
02 br
01 i 00 John is not a engineer, maybe a technician.
02 br
01 i 00 John is not a engineer, maybe a technician.
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