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used to say that something is possible （有可能但不肯定）也许，可能 That may or may not be true. 这可能是真的，也可能不是。 He may have (= perhaps he has) missed his train. 他可能没赶上火车。 They may well win. 他们完全可能赢。 There is a range of programs on the market which may be described as design aids. 市场上有各种程序，可以称为设计辅助工具。
- (formal)
used to ask for or give permission （征求同意或表示允许）可以 Which Word? can / maycan / may- Can and cannot (or can’t) are the most common words used for asking for, giving or refusing permission:
can 和 cannot（或 can't）是表示请求、给予或拒绝许可的最通用词： Can I borrow your calculator? 我可以借用你的计算器吗？ You can come with us if you want to. 如果你愿意可以跟我们一起来。 You can’t park your car there. 你不能在那儿停车。
- May (negative may not) is used as a polite and fairly formal way to ask for or give permission:
may（否定式 may not）用以表示礼貌的正式请求或给予许可： May I borrow your newspaper? 把你的报纸借我看行吗？ You may come if you wish. 你想来的话可以来。
该词常用于正式标志和规定： Visitors may use the swimming pool between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. 访客从早 7:00 到晚 7:00 可在游泳池游泳。 - Students may not use the college car park.
学生不得在学院停车场停车。
现代英语几乎不用 mayn't。
- Can and cannot (or can’t) are the most common words used for asking for, giving or refusing permission:
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used when admitting that something is true before introducing another point, argument, etc. （转折前所述情况属实）也许，可能 - (formal)
used as a polite way of making a comment, asking a question, etc. （礼貌地评价或提问等）可以 - (formal)
used to express wishes and hopes （表示愿望）但愿 - (formal)
used to say what the purpose of something is （表明目的）可以，能够 There is a need for more resources so that all children may have a decent education. 需要更多的资源投入，让所有的孩子都受到良好的教育。
Grammar Point modal verbsmodal verbs- The modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will and would. Dare, need, have to and used to also share some of the features of modal verbs.
can、could、may、might、must、ought to、shall、should、will 和 would 均为情态动词。dare、need、have to 和 used to 亦具有情态动词的某些特性。 - Modal verbs have only one form. They have no -ing or -ed forms and do not add -s to the 3rd person singular form:
情态动词只有一种形式，没有 -ing 或 -ed 形式，第三人称单数也不加 -s： - He can speak three languages.
他会说三种语言。 She will try and visit tomorrow. 她明天将设法去参观。
- He can speak three languages.
- Modal verbs are followed by the infinitive of another verb without to. The exceptions are ought to, have to and used to:
情态动词后跟不带 to 的动词不定式，但 ought to、have to 和 used to 例外： You must find a job. 你必须找到一份工作。 You ought to stop smoking. 你应当戒烟。 I used to smoke but I gave up two years ago. 我过去抽烟，但两年前就戒了。
- Questions are formed without do/does in the present, or did in the past:
疑问句现在时不用 do/does，过去时不用 did： Can I invite Mary? 我可以邀请玛丽吗？ Should I have invited Mary? 我本该邀请玛丽吗？
- Negative sentences are formed with not or the short form -n’t and do not use do/does or did.
否定句用 not 或简约式 -n't，不用 do/does 或 did。
情态动词的不同用法可参考本词典里各情态动词词条。
Idioms
be that as it may
- (formal)
despite that 尽管如此 I know that he has tried hard; be that as it may, his work is just not good enough. 我知道他已经尽力了，尽管如此，他的工作仍不太理想。
may/might (just) as well do something
used to say that something seems the best thing to do in the situation that you are in, although you may not really want to do it （有可能但不肯定）也许，可能 If no one else wants it, we might as well give it to him. 如果没人要这个，我们不妨给他吧。
used to say that there is no real difference between two things that you might do （有可能但不肯定）也许，可能 If you are going to have sugar, you may as well have a bar of chocolate. 如果你想吃糖，不妨吃一块巧克力。