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July 15, 2005
May and Can
As Sherlock Holmes would say, "It's elementary." Sure, we've finished grammar school, and middle school/junior high, and probably high school. Just because many people aren't actively pursuing a formal education doesn't mean that they should forget some of those lessons taught so very early in their learning careers. The difference between can and may is as simple as ability and permission. Let's break it down.
"Can" is a question of ability. Can you tie your shoes with your eyes closed? Can you touch your nose with your tongue? "May" is a question of permission. May I be excused from the dinner table? May I go over to my friend's house to light things on fire while his parents aren't home? It could be quite the crucial mistake to interchange those words.
Let's take a couple sentences that would be significantly different if the words were switched:
- Can I use the restroom? — (unless you've got something lodged up there, I would assume you can)
- May I drink a gallon of milk all at once? — (be my guest, but from what I understand "The Gallon Challenge" is near impossible)
- Can I tell you how I really feel? — (I think you're able, but you may not possess the intestinal fortitude to do it)
This is a simple concept, but obviously one on which people are missing out. At this time I'm not going to step into the areas of "they're", "their" & "there", nor will I discuss "to", "two", & "too" or other similar things. I'll leave that to somebody else.
(want a quick lesson on it's vs. its? check out a Strongbad Email which I find particularly helpful when it comes to that. feel no obligation to watch beyond him sitting at his computer)