Could and May are modal verbs used by a person in a sentence to seek a request or a possibility. Both have the same initial meaning, which is to request something.
Both can be used formally, but when a particular subject of the sentence has to ask for permission, May can be used only in the first-person reference and not in the second or third-person usually.
Key Takeaways
- “Could” refers to the ability or possibility of doing something in the past or present, while “may” implies permission or the likelihood of something happening in the future.
- “Could” is used to express a hypothetical or conditional scenario, while “may” suggests a more probable or certain outcome.
- Both words are modal verbs that can be used to make requests, ask for permission, or express uncertainty, but they have distinct connotations that depend on the context.
Could vs May
“Could” is used to express a past possibility or ability. It can also be used as a polite way to make a request. For example: “I could run faster when I was younger” or “Could you please pass the salt?” “May” is used to express a present or future possibility. It is used when asking for permission or making a suggestion. For example: “It may rain later today” or “May I use the restroom?
Could’ is a model verb used to express permission or a request. It is also used to show courtesy of a certain amount of concern in a sentence.
‘Could’ can be used in the first, second or third person in whichever a person wants to use in a sentence. Could is the past tense of can. So, it has a similar meaning to can.
‘May’ denotes a sense of possibility or a term of factual statement in a sentence. It states that something is possible in the future or present.
Using ‘May’, one can say that something is possible but not in a sure way. May is used in the future tense more often.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of comparison | Could | May |
|---|---|---|
| Function | To seek permission politely. | To seek requests formally. |
| Tense | Primarily used in past tense only. | Used as present as well as past tense. |
| Possibility | The possibility is of a public event. | The possibility is of a specific event. |
| What its states | It states that something could have happened. | It states that something can happen in the future. |
| Pronoun | It is used for all three persons in the subject. | It has ‘I’ as its subject. |
What is Could?
Could’ is used to state that something must have happened. It indicates that a particular thing would have been possible in the past, although it didn’t happen.
A person can use ‘could’ to suggest that something was true or that it just has happened. The negative form of could is ‘couldn’t’, which indicates something that will not occur or be impossible.
When ‘could’ is used in a sentence, it also means that they are talking about a specific possibility or an event’s ability depending on external or internal conditions.
‘Could’ is used in a sentence to denote a resemblance between one thing and another.
‘Could’ is also used by a person to question someone when they want to make a humble request or seek permission for something to happen.
Could’ in a sentence is also used sometimes after the word ‘if’ when a person talks about the ability or an opportunity they do not have or did not get but which you would not mind considering.
Finally, ‘could’ is also used interrogatively to emphasize something strongly.
Examples-
- You could have passed your exam.
- How could you not let her do the work?
- How could you look so gorgeous!
- Could I please handle this part of the work?
- I could have killed you!
What is May?
‘May’ is used in a sentence to denote or identify that something may happen shortly but not for sure with certainty. The word ‘may’ is used by a person to indicate if something is true in a sentence.
May is also used only when something is true when something happens.
When a person uses ‘may,’ it shows and indicates the statements when a person accepts truth for a situation, but in contrast, something else will happen.
The word could be used with the past particle, which is ‘may have’ when someone wants to suggest that something was possibly true when it happened.
The word may is sometimes used in a sentence when someone is allowed to do something due to some rule or law stated. The negative form of may is may not.
People most use ‘may’ to ask or give permission to someone to do something.
People use it to ask something in the most polite way to interrupt someone from asking any question or telling what a person would say.
Example-
- We may have a party today.
- We may go to that place today.
- May I enter the classroom?
- I may seek to understand what you are going through.
- We may not fail if we study hard.
Main Differences Between Could and May
- ‘May’ is used in the future and present, while ‘could’ is used in the past tense.
- May is used formally, whereas ‘could’ is also used formally, but not as much as ‘may.
- In a possible statement, ‘may’ is used as a public event, whereas ‘could’ refers to a specific event.
- Could’ is used in the third person as a subject, whereas ‘may’ have ‘I’ as its subject.
- Could’ states that something could have happened in the past, whereas ‘may’ states that something can happen in the future.
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/27829317
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2004.00144.x
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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