different between may vs much

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: m?, IPA^(key): /me?/
• Rhymes: -e?

Etymology 1

From Middle English mowen, mayen, mo?en, ma?en, from Old English magan, from Proto-West Germanic *magan, from Proto-Germanic *magan?, from Proto-Indo-European *meg?-.

Cognate with Dutch mag (“may”, first and third-person singular of mogen (“to be able to, be allowed to, may”)), Low German mögen, German mag (“like”, first and third-person singular of mögen (“to like, want, require”)), Swedish må, Icelandic mega, megum. See also might.

Verb

may (third-person singular simple present may, no present participle, simple past might, no past participle)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be strong; to have power (over). [8th–17th c.]
2. (obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can. [8th–17th c.]
3. (intransitive, poetic) To be able to go. [from 9th c.]
4. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests. [from 9th c.]

   Synonyms: can, could, might

5. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly. [from 13th c.]

   Synonyms: could, might

6. (subjunctive present, defective) Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect). [from 16th c.]

   Synonym: might

7. Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a question or remark.

Usage notes

• May 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 mayn't, although this is old-fashioned; the simple past is negated as might not, which can be contracted to mightn't.
• May has archaic second-person singular present 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.
• Conversely, since may not is particularly likely to promote confusion between the senses of "will possibly not" and "is forbidden to," some rules for the drafting of laws and regulations proscribe "may not" and require the use of "must not" or similar for clarity. Example: [2]
• 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. The use of may for this purpose may lend a more formal, literary, or solemn feeling (perhaps jocularly so) to the wish. Moreover, wishes in the subjunctive need not use may if the meaning is clear without it, which is the case mainly for established expressions in the third-person singular such as God help you.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• Appendix:English modal verbs
• Appendix:English tag questions

Etymology 2

French mai, so called because it blossoms in the month of May.

Noun

may (uncountable)

1. The hawthorn bush or its blossoms.

Derived terms

• Italian may
• mayhaw

Translations

Verb

may (third-person singular simple present mays, present participle maying, simple past and past participle mayed)

1. (poetic, intransitive) To gather may, or flowers in general.
2. (poetic, intransitive) To celebrate May Day.

Etymology 3

Shortening of maid, from maiden.

Noun

may (plural mays)

1. (archaic) A maiden.

Anagrams

• Amy, MYA, Mya, Yam, mya, yam

Azerbaijani

Noun

may (definite accusative may?, plural maylar)

1. May

Declension

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) ay; yanvar, fevral, mart, aprel, may, iyun, iyul, avqust, sentyabr, oktyabr, noyabr, dekabr ^{(Category: az:Months)}

Bikol Central

Verb

may

1. there is
2. to have

Synonyms

• igwa

Antonyms

• mayo
• wara

Crimean Tatar

Noun

may

1. butter, oil

Declension

Synonyms

• ya?

Kalasha

Determiner

may

1. my

Pronoun

may

1. me

Mapudungun

Adverb

may (using Raguileo Alphabet)

1. yes

References

• Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Northern Kurdish

Noun

may m

1. intervention

Derived terms

• mayê xwe tê dan
• maytêder
• maytêderî
• maytêker
• maytêkerî
• mayê xwe tê kirin

Quechua

Adverb

may

1. where
2. like, how, very

Derived terms

• maykama
• mayman
• maymanta
• maypi

See also

• may may

Pronoun

may

1. (interrogative pronoun) which

Verb

may

1. (transitive) to fear

Conjugation

Tagalog

Particle

may

1. particle used as an existential marker

   Antonym: wala

Synonyms

• mayroon
• meron

Tatar

Alternative forms

• ??? (may)

Noun

may

1. May (Month of the Year)

Declension

See also

• Previous: äpril. * Next: yün

Uzbek

Etymology

From Russian ??? (maj), from Latin m?ius.

Noun

may (plural maylar)

1. May

Declension

Related terms

• (Gregorian calendar months) oy; yanvar, fevral, mart, aprel, may, iyun, iyul, avgust, sentabr, oktabr, noyabr, dekabr ^{(Category: uz:Months)}

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà N?i) IPA^(key): [maj??]
• (Hu?) IPA^(key): [maj??]
• (H? Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ma(?)j??]

Etymology 1

Cognate with Muong b?l.

Verb

may • (????, ????, ????, ????)

1. to sew

Derived terms

See also

• khâu

Etymology 2

Adjective

may • (?, ?, ????, ????, ????, ????, ????)

1. lucky

   Synonym: hên

Derived terms

Walloon

Etymology

From Old French mai, from Latin M?ius.

Noun

may

1. May (month)

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) djanvî, fevrî, måss, avri, may, djun, djulete, awousse, setimbe, octôbe, nôvimbe, decimbe ^{(Category: wa:Months)}

English

Etymology

From Middle English muche (“much, great”), apocopated variant of muchel (“much, great”), from Old English micel (“big, much”), from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz (“great, many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *me?h?- (“big, stour, great”). See also mickle, muckle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?t??/
• Rhymes: -?t?

Determiner

much (comparative more, superlative most)

1. A large amount of. [from 13^thc.]

   Hurry! We don't have much time!

   They set about the task with much enthusiasm.

   • 1816, Jane Austen, Persuasion:

     As it was, he did nothing with much zeal, but sport; and his time was otherwise trifled away, without benefit from books or anything else.

   • 2011, "Wisconsin and wider", The Economist, 24 February:

     Unless matters take a nastier turn, neither side has much incentive to compromise.

2. (in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the quantity of something.

   Add this much water and no more.

   Take as much time as you like.

3. (now archaic or nonstandard) A great number of; many (people). [from 13^thc.]
   • 1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew VI:

     When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.

   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula:

     There wasn't much people about that day.

4. (now Caribbean, African-American) Many ( + plural countable noun). [from 13^thc.]
   • 1977, Bob Marley, So Much Things to Say:

     They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say.

Usage notes

• Much is now generally used with uncountable nouns. The equivalent used with countable nouns is many. In positive contexts, much is widely avoided: I have a lot of money instead of I have much money. There are some exceptions to this, however: I have much hope for the future.
• Unlike many determiners, much is frequently modified by intensifying adverbs, as in “too much”, “very much”, “so much”, “not much”, and so on. (The same is true of many.)

Synonyms

• a great deal of, (informal) a lot of

Antonyms

• little

Related terms

• how much
• too much

Translations

Adjective

much (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Large, great. [12^th-16^thc.]
2. (obsolete) Long in duration.

Adverb

much (comparative more, superlative most)

1. To a great extent.
2. Often; frequently.

3. (in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate or compare extent.

   I don't like Wagner as much as I like Mozart.

4. (obsolete) Almost.

Usage notes

• As a verb modifier in positive contexts, much must be modified by another adverb: I like fish very much, I like fish so much, etc. but not *I like fish much.
• As a comparative intensifier, many can be used instead of much if it modifies the comparative form of many, i.e. more with a countable noun: many more people but much more snow.
• May be used in humorous questions to draw attention to somebody's undesirable behaviour: "desperate much?", "cherry-picking much?", etc.

Synonyms

• (to a great extent): (informal) a great deal, (informal) a lot, greatly, highly, (informal) loads, plenty (slang, especially US), very much

Antonyms

• (to a great extent): less, little, few, almost, nearly,

Derived terms

Translations

Pronoun

much

1. A large amount or great extent.

   From those to whom much has been given much is expected.

   We lay awake for much of the night.

Anagrams

• Chum, chum

Chuukese

Verb

much

1. to end

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mux/

Noun

much

1. genitive plural of moucha

Old Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mut??]

Adverb

much

1. Apocopic form of mucho; very, greatly
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 36r.

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mux/

Noun

much

1. genitive plural of mucha

Yucatec Maya

Noun

much

1. Obsolete spelling of muuch