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May confusion



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
LCCI EfB, preliminary level, task 2 | glaze over
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May confusion #1 (permalink) Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:36 am   May confusion
 

Since May itself is an auxiliary verb, do we use any other verb with it?

For example May the new chapter of his life be filled with....or will be filled with which one is right?
Bonychat
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May confusion #2 (permalink) Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:42 am   May confusion
 

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Hi,

When you use 'may' as in your sentence, you are really expressing a wish or a hope as in: May you be successful in your enterprise. This is an old fashioned way of saying: I hope you will be successful in your enterprise. You can't use 'may' and 'will' together as you have shown in your question.

Alan
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May confusion #3 (permalink) Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:55 am   May confusion
 

Thank You Sir....So, we can say either

May your new chapter of life be filled with or Hope, your new chapter of life will be filled with?
Bonychat
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May confusion #4 (permalink) Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:24 am   May confusion
 

Hi,

The important thing is to understand the difference between 'may' and 'will' in your sentences. If you start with 'May', you are saying that this is what you hope will happen. If you say: The new chapter in your life will be filled, you are stating this as a fact and saying that this is going to happen.

Alan
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