May vs Would - What's the difference?
may | would |
(obsolete) To be strong; to have power (over).
(obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can.
*, II.3.6:
(poetic) To be able to go.
* 1600 , (William Shakespeare), (w, A Midsummer Night's Dream) , III.3:
(modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.
(modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly.
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Phil Dawkes, work=BBC Sport
, title=[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/15045630.stm Sunderland 2-2 West Brom]
, passage=The result may not quite give the Wearsiders a sweet ending to what has been a sour week, following allegations of sexual assault and drug possession against defender Titus Bramble, but it does at least demonstrate that their spirit remains strong in the face of adversity.}}
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=[http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21580518-terrible-name-interesting-trend-rise-smart-beta The rise of smart beta]
, passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}
(subjunctive present, defective) Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect).
* 1974 , (Bob Dylan),
* Prior
To gather may.
* 1922 , , VII, lines 1-2
(lb) As a past-tense form of (will).
#(lb) Wished, desired (something).
#(lb) Wanted to ( + bare infinitive).
#*1852 , James Murdock, trans. Johann Lorenz Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History , II.7.iii:
#*:The Greeks, especially those who would be thought adepts in mystic theology, ran after fantastic allegories.
#Used to; was or were habitually accustomed to ( + bare infinitive); indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly.
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=No matter how early I came down, I would' find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man ' would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.}}
#*2009 , "Soundtrack of my life", The Guardian , 15 March:
#*:When we were kids we would sit by the radio with a tape recorder on a Sunday, listening out for the chart songs we wanted to have.
#Used with bare infinitive to form the "anterior future", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.
#*1867 , (Anthony Trollope), (w) , Ch.28:
#*:That her Lily should have been won and not worn, had been, and would be, a trouble to her for ever.
#*
#*:Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 5, author=Phil Dawkes, work=BBC Sport
, title= #(lb) Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.
#*1724 , (Daniel Defoe), , Penguin p.107:
#*:He sat as one astonish'd, a good-while, looking at me, without speaking a Word, till I came quite up to him, kneel'd on one Knee to him, and almost whether he would or no, kiss'd his Hand.
#*1846 , "A New Sentimental Journey", Blackwoods Magazine , vol.LX, no.372:
#*:If I could fly, I would away to those realms of light and warmth – far, far away in the southern clime.
#Was determined to; loosely, could naturally have been expected to (given the tendencies of someone's character etc.).
#*1835 , (Charles Dickens), (Sketches by Boz) , V:
#*:Then he took to breeding silk-worms, which he would bring in two or three times a day, in little paper boxes, to show the old lady.
#*2009 , "Is the era of free news over?", The Observer ,
#*:The free access model, the media magnate said last week, was "malfunctioning". Well he would , wouldn't he?
(lb) As a modal verb, the subjunctive of will.
#Used to give a conditional or potential "softening" to the present; might, might wish.
#*2008 , Mark Cocker, "Country Diary", The Guardian , 3 November:
#*:It's a piece of old folklore for which I would love to find hard proof.
#Used as the auxiliary of the simple conditional modality (with a bare infinitive); indicating an action or state that is conditional on another.
#*2010 , The Guardian , 26 February:
#*:Warnock admitted it would be the ideal scenario if he received a Carling Cup winners' medal as well as an England call-up.
#
#*1859 , (John Bunyan), (w, The Pilgrim's Progress) ,
#*:I presently wished, would' that I had been in their clothes! '''would''' that I had been born Peter! ' would that I had been born John!
#*1868 , Sir (Walter Scott), (Ivanhoe) , Ch.23:
#*:I would she had retained her original haughtiness of disposition, or that I had a larger share of Front-de-Bœuf's thrice-tempered hardness of heart!
#Used to impart a sense of hesitancy or uncertainty to the present; might be inclined to. Now sometimes colloquially with ironic effect.
#*2009 , Nick Snow, The Rocket's Trail , p.112:
#*:“Those trials are being run by the American army so surely you must have access to the documents?” “Well, yeah, you’d think.”
#*2010 , (Terry Pratchett), "My case for a euthanasia tribunal", The Guardian ,
#*:Departing on schedule with the help of a friendly doctor was quite usual. Does that still apply? It would seem so.
#Used interrogatively to express a polite request; are (you) willing to …?
#:
#
#*1608 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , I.4:
#*:What dost thou professe? What would’st thou with vs?
As verbs the difference between may and would
is that may is to be strong; to have power (over) while would is As a past-tense form of {{term|will}}.As a noun may
is the hawthorn bush or its blossoms.As a proper noun May
is the fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June.may
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) , Icelandic mega, megum. See also might.Verb
- But many timeswe give way to passions we may resist and will not.
- O weary night, O long and tedious night, / Abate thy houres, shine comforts from the East, / That I may backe to Athens by day-light […].
- May' God bless and keep you always / '''May''' your wishes all come true / '''May''' you always do for others / And let others do for you / '''May''' you build a ladder to the stars / And climb on every rung / ' May you stay forever young
- How old may Phillis be, you ask.
Usage notes
* (term) is now a defective verb. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. Forms of (to be allowed to) are used to replace these missing tenses. * The simple past (both indicative and subjunctive) of (may) is (might) * The present tense is negated as (may) (not), which can be contracted to (term, mayn't), although this is old-fashioned; the simple past is negated as (might) (not), which can be contracted to (term, mightn't). * (term) has archaic second-person singular present indicative forms (mayest) and (mayst). * Usage of this word in the sense of (possibly) is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, as it blurs the meaning of the word in the sense have permission to . These speakers and writers prefer to use the word (might) instead. * Wishes are often cast in the imperative rather than the subjunctive mood, not using the word (may), as in Have a great day!'' rather than ''May you have a great day .Synonyms
* (have permission to) can, could, might * (possibly) could, might * (in subjunctive) mightDerived terms
* as the case may be * be it as it may, be that as it may, be this as it may * come what may * devil-may-care * if I may * I may not but * it may well with, may well with * let the chips fall where they may * may as well * maybe * may chance * may-fall * may-fortune * mayhap * mayhappen * may I? * may-issue * mayn't * may you live in interesting times * that is as may be, that's as may be * * what-you-may-call-itSee also
*Etymology 2
(etyl) mai, so called because it blossoms in (May).Derived terms
* *Verb
(en verb)- In valleys green and still / Where lovers wander maying
Statistics
*would
English
Alternative forms
* (obsolete)Verb
(head)QPR 2-3 Man City, passage=Toure would have the decisive say though, rising high to power a header past Kenny from Aleksandar Kolarov's cross.}}