VOA慢速英语2015 Everyday Grammar: Can I, Could I, May I?

Everyday Grammar: Can I, Could I, May I?

For VOA Learning¹ English, this is Everyday Grammar.

This week we will give you some tips on how to use modals to make requests and give permission. Some common modals for expressing permission are may, can, and could. But these modals have multiple² meanings that can be confusing for English learners.

Can and May

Children in American schools learn to use the modal may when asking for permission. A student might ask the teacher, "May I be excused?" before leaving the room. When students asked, "Can I leave the room?" their teachers often made a joke, "You can, but you may not." The teacher was saying the student is able to leave the room, but does not have permission to do so. May is the most formal way to ask for permission. The distinction between can and may is slowly disappearing in English.

These days, is not always clear if may is being used to express permission or possibility—or both. Let's look at some examples in the language of Internet privacy³ policies. When you visit a website for the first time, you often see a popup box asking for permission to collect information about you. Privacy laws in some countries require websites to tell you what information is collected and how it will be used. A common privacy statement includes this sentence: “We may collect various types of information…when you visit any of our sites.”

Let's see what this legal language really means. "We may collect information…" means that you give the company permission to collect information about you. In other words, you allow the company to save your email address or your computer's address.

But may has multiple meanings. In addition to expressing permission, may also expresses possibility. For example, “It may rain” means that there is a possibility of rain.

Let’s go back to our privacy example. “We may collect various types of information…when you visit any of our sites.” The policy contains some clever legal language. “We may collect information” means “We have permission to collect information.” But it could also mean, “There is a possibility that we will collect information.” One could make an argument for both meanings. As an Internet user⁴, you should assume⁵ both meanings of may are part of the policy.

Could and May

A third modal for making polite requests is could. For example, “Could I please have some water?” Could is the past tense of can. However, when asking for permission, could does not have a past tense meaning. Could has the same meaning as may when making requests. It is equally polite to say “Could I leave early?” or “May I leave early?”

Could is used with any subject to ask for permission. For example “Could I open the window?” or “Could you open the window?” are both grammatical⁶.

Be careful with may. When making a request using may, only I can be the subject. If you are making a formal request to dance with someone, you would say, “May I have this dance?” not “May you have this dance?” May followed by you does not express a request; it expresses a wish, as in “May you live long.” 

But that’s another episode⁷. Until next time, we’ll leave you a song of permission by the Temptations⁸.

May I have this dance

May I, may, may I have this dance

Words in This Story

modal verb - a verb (such as can, could, shall, should, ought to, will, or would) that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity⁹, and permission

permission -  n. the right or ability to do something that is given by someone who has the power to decide if it will be allowed or permitted

distinction – n. the separation of people or things into different groups

privacy – n. the state of being away from public attention

pop-up – adj. computers : appearing on the screen over another window or document

allow - v. to permit (something) : to regard or treat (something) as acceptable¹⁰

formal - adj. of language: suitable for serious or official speech and writing

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。

3 privacy   

n.私人权利，个人自由，隐私权

参考例句：

• In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中，保密是不可能的。
• She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。

4 user   

n.用户，使用者

参考例句：

• The company is the biggest user of oil.该公司是最大的石油用户。
• The umbrella keeps the rains off the user.雨伞使撑伞人免受雨淋。

5 assume   

vt.假装；假定，设想；承担；呈现，采取

参考例句：

• I assume that he won't cheat you.想来他是不会骗你的。
• We can't assume anything in this case.在这种情况下我们不可能做出假设。

6 grammatical   

adj.语法的，符合语法规则的

参考例句：

• His composition is excellent except for some grammatical mistakes.他的作文写得很好，只有几处语法错误。
• He can barely form a grammatical sentence.他几乎造不出合乎语法的句子。

7 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

8 temptations   

n.诱惑，引诱( temptation的名词复数 )；诱惑物

参考例句：

• He succumbed to the temptations of the big city. 他受不住大城市的诱惑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was surrounded by temptations. 他受到各种诱惑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 necessity   

n.必要性，需要；必需品

参考例句：

• I look upon this as an absolute necessity.我认为这是绝对必要的。
• You must understand the necessity of education.你必须懂得教育的必要性。

10 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。