May or Can?
rogersgeorge on November 18th, 2023
Perhaps this distinction has fallen into disuse since I was in sixth grade. Mrs. Clemens taught us
- Use “may” to refer to permission. May I do this?
- Use “can” to refer to ability. I can do it!
I don’t see this distinction much any more. I was even forbidden to make this distinction for one of my writing projects; I had to use “can” all the time.
Well, here’s an example of when using the correct word (may) makes sense. Third panel:
So do you ever use may and can “correctly”? Maybe you’re an old geezer like me.
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