Using the word maybe in a sentence

Examples of how to use the word “maybe” in a sentence. How to connect “maybe” with other words to make correct English sentences.

maybe (adv): used to show that something is possible or that something might be true

Use “maybe” in a sentence

Maybe he’ll come, maybe he won’t.

‘Are you going to sell your house?’ ‘Maybe.’

Maybe they’re busy. Back to “3000 Most Common Words in English”

Use Maybe in a sentence. How to use the word Maybe in a sentence? Sentence examples with the word Maybe. Sentence for Maybe.

Definition of Maybe

Maybe is an adverb that is used to express uncertainty or possibility. It can be used to indicate that something may or may not happen, or that something may be true or false. For example, someone might say “Maybe it will rain tomorrow” to indicate that they are uncertain whether it will rain or not. Or, “Maybe I will come to the party” to indicate that they are not sure if they will attend or not. It can also be used to indicate a choice or an option, “Maybe we can go to the beach or the mountains.” It can also be used as a polite way of declining an invitation or request “Maybe another time“

Examples of Maybe in a sentence

1. Maybe we should try a different approach.
2. Maybe I’ll go to the concert, but I’m not sure yet.
3. Maybe I’ll see you later.
4. Maybe it’s time for a change.
5. Maybe I’ll just have a cup of coffee instead.
6. Maybe we can meet up later, if you’re free.
7. Maybe I’ll take a rain check on that offer.
8. Maybe I’ll take a break and come back to it later.
9. Maybe I’ll just stay home tonight.
10. Maybe I’ll apply for the job, but I’m not sure if I’m qualified.
11. Maybe we can try again tomorrow.
12. Maybe I’ll go to the gym after work.
13. Maybe I’ll take a vacation next month.
14. Maybe I’ll call you later, I’m not sure yet.
15. Maybe we can make a deal, if the price is right.
16. Maybe I’ll take the early train tomorrow.
17. Maybe I’ll see you at the party, but I’m not sure yet.
18. Maybe I’ll try a different route home today.
19. Maybe I’ll have the chicken instead of the fish.
20. Maybe we can go on a trip next weekend.
21. Maybe I’ll stop by the store on the way home.
22. Maybe I’ll take the day off and relax.
23. Maybe I’ll start a new hobby next month.
24. Maybe I’ll finish the book tonight.
25. Maybe I’ll see you at the meeting, but I’m not sure yet.

Post Views: 1,034

1. I’m not sure. Maybe. —It’s possible.

2. Maybe you are right and I am wrong.

3. We go there maybe once or twice a month.

4. Maybe someday you’ll both meet again.

5. Maybe I don’t deserve you.

6. Maybe this guy isn’t so squeaky clean after all.

7. Maybe it’s all just a big misunderstanding.

8. Maybe she is in love.

9. I smile too long didn’t practice, maybe you forgot.

10. A person thinks unforgettable memories,maybe someone else already forgotten.

11. I can’t see you now-some other time, maybe.

12. Maybe you’ll have a better luck next time.

13. It will cost two, maybe three hundred pounds.

14. Maybe he’ll come, maybe he won’t.

15. Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.

16. maybe god wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.

17. Maybe there’s something fate can’t touch, fate doesn’t control how easily you come to peace.

18. There are scores of people there[sentencedict.com], maybe eighty or more.

19. Maybe god wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one,so that when we finally meet the perple,we will know how to be grateful.

20. Maybe God wants you to meet many wrong people before you meet the right one, so when this happens ,you’ll be thankful.

21. ‘Okay, so maybe I was a little bit scared,’ Jenny admitted.

22. «Maybe your husband does things that you don’t know about, » he said with a smirk.

23. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one,so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.

24. Maybe God wants you to meet many wrong jpeople before you meet the right one, so when this happens, youll be thankful.

25. Hope is a good thing,(http://sentencedict.com) maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

26. We must do something about that dead tree, it’s only a matter of time before it falls down and maybe injures somebody.

27. In place waiting for one person, may not have thought about, maybe that person had been there long forgotten here.

28. We shall always save a place for ourselves, only for ourselves. Andthen begin to love. Have no idea of what it is, who he is, how to loveor how long it will be. Just wait for one love. Maybe no one will comeout, but this kind of waiting is the love itself.

29. Why to ask so much when you are in love If you ask too much, maybe you no longer love. The mature never ask the past, the wise never ask the present and the open-minded never ask the future.

30. Maybe it doesn’t matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.

If you want to improve your writing, it doesn’t hurt to master some English grammar skills. One of the questions a lot of writers asks is how to use the word maybe: specifically, when to use maybe vs. may be.

Don’t worry. You’re not alone in thinking that the English language can have some difficult rules to remember when it comes to grammar and writing.

Today, let’s focus on when to use the word maybe versus the phrase may be to improve your writing.

Here’s the quick rule for maybe vs. may be:

The Simple Trick to Maybe vs. May Be

If you can replace it with “potentially,” use maybe. If you can replace it with “might be,” use may be.

If you’re interested in knowing WHY this is true, read on!

The Difference Between Maybe and May Be: The 9 Parts of Speech

Maybe and may be are both used to discuss possibility. However, they are different, with the main difference between these two words being that they are two different parts of speech.

As you may remember from elementary school, there are nine different parts of speech:

Need a refresher on these? Check out our full parts of speech guide here.

But which part of speech do maybe and may be fall under?

Maybe Is an Adverb

Maybe is an adverb, which means it needs to modify a verb. As an adverb, the word maybe means possibly.

It’s also a synonym for perhaps.

For instance:

• Maybe I’ll cook soup for dinner.
• Maybe Jill will ask Jack out.
• Maybe you could stop at Starbucks before coming over?

Also, notice how where a word like “might” is not usually used in the beginning of a sentence, the verb “maybe” very well could be—something worth pointing out since many ESL (English Language Learners) mistake maybe for might when first learning American English.

But what about the word may be?

May and Be Are Both Verbs

On the other hand, the phrase “may be” uses two verbs, which can work as separate words. This also means that “may” and “be” express a state of being.

Separated, “may” is a modal verb and “be” is a main or auxiliary verb.

When these word are separated, “may be” acts a verb phrase that means “could be” or “might be.”

Separated, the verb “may” expresses possibility where the verb “be” express a state of being.

As verbs, the phrase “may be” will always modify a noun. Some example sentences of this are:

• John may be at the dance tonight.
• Heather may be joining us for brunch.
• Courtney may be late.

The English language often combines two different verbs that, when placed together, usually convey a different meaning than the verbs do when they stand alone.

How to Use  Maybe vs. May Be (With Examples)

The tricky fact is that they have similar meanings, which makes it more difficult to distinguish. So with that in mind, look at the difference between these two words in context:

Correct:

• Maybe Deon will be interested in going swing dancing next week.
• Deon may be interested in going swing dancing tonight.

The first sentence is correct because “maybe” is modifying the verb “will be.” If you replaced it with “potentially” it would mean the same thing, but if you replaced “may” with “might” it wouldn’t make sense.

“Might be Deon” just sounds weird, right?

The second sentence is correct because “may be” is the action for the proper noun, “Deon.” If you replaced “may” with “might” it would sound normal, “Deon might be interested….” Sounds good, right? But if you replaced it with “potentially,” it would be weird.

“Deon potentially interested….” Unless you’re a caveman, that doesn’t sound right.

Let’s look at some incorrect examples:

Incorrect:

• May be Shirley will go to tango night with us.
• Shirley maybe going to tango night with us.

For the first sentence, again try replacing “may be” with “might be” and you’ll find it sounds more like Yoda-speak than normal English.

For the second sentence, replacing “maybe” with “potentially” feels weirdly clipped. You’d have to say, “Shirley potentially will be going…,” to make it work, and even then, “may be” is much smoother.

Let’s look at a few other examples that use correct grammar:

Correct:

• Vardy says he may be doing a cha cha performance next week.
• Vardy says he is thinking about maybe doing a cha cha performance next week.
• If Tina goes dancing tomorrow, she may be showing off her new swing skills.
• If Tina goes dancing tomorrow, maybe she can show off her new swing skills.

Are you seeing it now?

The Trick to Never Confuse Maybe and May Be Again

Again, the easiest way to make sure you’re using these correctly is to replay “maybe” with “potentially” and “may be” with “might be.” If the sentence is still correct, you’re good. If it’s not, then you know you need to change it.

So there you have it. Now you’ll never confuse the two again! But just to be sure, let’s practice the two with a creative writing exercise.

Need more grammar help? My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid. Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 20 percent off: WritePractice20

1.
Maybe you want to have a new car

---

2.
Maybe you want to have a new house

---

3.
during the coming winter months? Maybe

---

4.
her to try a new sport that is not traditionally played by girls? maybe a

---

5.
If it weren’t for him, maybe they’d have not taught me these things and I’d be someone else instead

---

6.
If your parents noticed you were hanging out with kids that maybe didn’t have the same values your

---

7.
Maybe Tatania would have one of her ‘treats’ in the way of staff for the evening

---

8.
Maybe I should have let him drive

---

9.
He had to go find her, well maybe not today, but instead of just wishing she was here

---

10.
“I mean, it was developing okay, but maybe during the gestation cycle…”

11.
Maybe he would get some fries

---

12.
Maybe that’s what she should have told him

---

13.
“Like chains,” the boy said, and Hermann thought that maybe he was silently going mad just while waiting in the terminal

---

14.
Another child, maybe five years old in red coveralls, ran up to his mother’s legs

---

15.
Maybe he shouldn’t have yelled quite so loud? Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything at all? Maybe he should have come in early to give his computer a head start in booting up? What was he supposed to be doing again? Looking for the sales report!

---

16.
I bet my friend would have said maybe she made it for me a long time ago before I was born and I wanted a taste of it again in this lifetime

---

17.
Maybe you can give me an answer to this question: What

---

18.
«Maybe if he knew about it,» she said

---

19.
«A hundred pounds, maybe; four tons of aluminum is like a major nation’s budget here

---

20.
The anticipation of that tryst was what drew Tdeshi’s hormones on this folly in the first place wasn’t it? Maybe it was what Jorma taught her about Tdeshi that had made it so exciting

21.
He recommends that she get out of the house, maybe volunteer or take dance lessons

---

22.
Maybe he’d sold his place on the mainland? Where’d they get the money for the boat also? Maybe it was a visitor? She wondered if Venna really had more money than she let on

---

23.
She wondered how much of it he was personally missing, it might be several, maybe pounds

---

24.
Maybe four tons?

---

25.
«Sweetie,» Mother cringed, «maybe the pony needs a break?»

---

26.
«Maybe I’ll just have to train you

---

27.
Maybe I just know how people respond to all this pain in the world

---

28.
Maybe there’s a way… and then you do it

---

29.
Maybe my dad wasn’t being careful

---

30.
You know, maybe one day you could show me some pointers on that machine you have upstairs,” Henry said

31.
He began to think that maybe he wasn’t as charming and fun as he once believed and that maybe it was just the alcohol that made him happy

---

32.
Her relief was blatant, «Herndon, oh good God, thank God it’s you,» she probably bleated these and a few more exclamations a few more times, maybe she did get a little hysterical for a second or few

---

33.
He had lost more sleep than she had on this adventure, but maybe he was used to it

---

34.
Maybe he’d gotten some mods for it

---

35.
It wouldn’t be his problem anymore; maybe they would find it, maybe they wouldn’t

---

36.
I have to admit that he wasn’t overly bothered when she went away, so maybe it is just as well he didn’t propose, but all the same, it is worrying that he hasn’t settled down

---

37.
‘Well … maybe it’s something we could investigate once this whole murder investigation is over and done with

---

38.
The detective had maybe gotten the note wet up put some powder on it

---

39.
Maybe I have taken you for granted the last few weeks you were here? Maybe I forgot to tell you how honored I am any time you could grace me with your presence? You are welcome in my home and in my bed at your pleasure, as I hoped you understood by now

---

40.
Maybe I should see

41.
But how does this person know him? How does she know his habits? Maybe she’s a stalker! Actually, that’s kind of flattering that someone would show an interest in him

---

42.
That’s twelve feet above the ground at the top of its arch, maybe more with these wheels on

---

43.
‘Man cuts out tattoo after split with girlfriend’ Maybe

---

44.
inevitable time comes for you, maybe you will resist temptation too

---

45.
Brentford beating Arsenal in the FA Cup, maybe? No

---

46.
Maybe that’s why I’m here

---

47.
I daresay she didn’t intend for it to come over so clearly, and maybe I am being over-sensitive but I felt it all the same … Well, if the only job I can get is in Taunton, I’ll just have to move back to Bridgwater … at least that will cut my travelling costs

---

48.
THE ISLAND’S BEACH — MAYBE AN HOUR LATER

---

49.
«Well, maybe you haven’t been in the loop quite as much lately, with your time off and being in the far east

---

50.
«Or maybe Europol has just been too slow, as usual

51.
SUMMIT OF THE MOUNTAIN — MAYBE 30 MINUTES LATER

---

52.
Or maybe there was another reason

---

53.
Maybe he needed some confirmation that he was doing the right thing

---

54.
John wades into the tussle, separates Jamil and Khalid, both of whom are about his size, and maybe only five years younger

---

55.
There was food and water for them and the kedas, and maybe beds with less bugs than the open ground

---

56.
Maybe she hadn’t transferred her address book from the old handset yet

---

57.
Didn’t I have a right to protect my own little patch of the world if the Gardai hadn’t been able to do so? Maybe I wasn’t the hardest guy in the world, even if I hadn’t been a committed pacifist

---

58.
Maybe I wasn’t the bravest in the world, hell, not even the bravest in Darklow, but one thing I can honestly say about myself, then as well as today, is that I’m determined and when it comes to family I will do, give and take whatever is needed

---

59.
«The hillside they were cutting thru was made of them, I perfected this rig over about, let’s see, maybe ten decades, maybe only four, but it was a length of time

---

60.
ramshackle collection of maybe 100 tin shacks clustered in the desert between a pocket of towering rock mountains

61.
Maybe it would be better to talk about that first rather than what she was going to do here

---

62.
Maybe she can sort it out

---

63.
I would guess his name might be Koata or Rarua or maybe Te Ati Awa, but not Ngata

---

64.
She didn’t look up the date, it was probably still in April, but maybe into May of 2424

---

65.
Maybe, in her

---

66.
Maybe even you have something to do with it already, perhaps without knowing it

---

67.
maybe I could be the

---

68.
Maybe this was it after all

---

69.
Maybe he wants it for himself

---

70.
Or maybe to her son’s

71.
«She was ten years old, or maybe a little older, but not much

---

72.
Maybe a niece? Yeah, that’s it

---

73.
Somewhere south of here, maybe your own country? Mediterranean

---

74.
Maybe we had a chance after all

---

75.
Nevertheless, somehow she had thought that this time, just maybe, because he was a policeman too, it would make a difference He would understand the crazy career, the obsessions, the dark humor, the dark lows and the soaring highs of success that couldn’t be shared with anyone else

---

76.
Maybe that was his mistake

---

77.
Maybe he should have been more of a man, hiding his feelings and resuming the daily

---

78.
There would be an open training session on at this time of the morning, she could join in, maybe see a few friends unrelated to work

---

79.
Maybe, he thought, he might find a

---

80.
«Maybe I will too

81.
Maybe I shouldn’t have had that last glass of wine … my brain seems to have given up thinking lucidly

---

82.
The net result is that I end up with his arms round me … maybe this is the answer to my dilemma

---

83.
Maybe for a tear-jerker movie but never under pressure

---

84.
Maybe even thinking that cloning is just another method of reproduction, just another way to populate this silicon wonderland

---

85.
«Alfred’s and my androids and maybe a couple flesh and blood Brazilians in two hundred seventy five year old spacesuits

---

86.
Maybe they’ll let me have them on the table thing they put across the bed

---

87.
Maybe you need a little protection around here

---

88.
He wants it more than anything else in his life and is willing to die, maybe even to kill for it

---

89.
Maybe even a greater example is found in Exodus 32:9-

---

90.
But, maybe, there is a way out: Conscious dream control and intervention in the astral plains may affect the flow or reality

91.
Bahkmar could never say this, but Moamar looked a lot like the one named Kiethying except for the pin stripes and turban and maybe fifty years

---

92.
Maybe it will encourage me next time I’m have a bad moment, reminding me that I’m probably not as bad as I think I am

---

93.
willing to follow the lead of the shepherds but too often the problem has been that there was nothing (no one) to follow except maybe the man in the pulpit or some godly parent or

---

94.
I haven’t given up yet, maybe because I like folk dances, maybe because I have nothing better to do

---

95.
Maybe because he saw on some subconscious level he was already aware of how close Wambach was to losing it

---

96.
Needs to eat something maybe

---

97.
Whole worlds, maybe more advanced than ours, may have vanished because of unpredictable or inevitable cosmic phenomena

---

98.
Decades, a lifetime maybe

---

99.
After welcoming me, he began to complain about “a woman who left Janus three years ago, without even explaining the reasons for leaving; she left because she couldn’t find a boyfriend, but neither away from Janus did she find a boyfriend; maybe it’s her karma, maybe its her idiosyncrasy

---

100.
He thought maybe it was the angle they flew at that hid the gun towers, but now, they’d come closer and changed their angle of approach and he still thought they looked under-gunned

• 
  Meanings of words and phrases
• 
  Example sentences
• 
  Similar words
• 
  Translations
• 
  Other types of questions

The meaning of «Maybe» in various phrases and sentences

Q:
Что значит maybe?

A:
Maybe means «tal vez» or «quizás.»

https://languageisla.tumblr.com/

Q:
Что значит maybe even?

A:
Oh, now I see!
Thank you, @TexasUSA!

Example sentences using «Maybe»

Q:
Покажите мне примеры предложений с maybe .

A:
It could be something like “Maybe I’ll go to the pet store tomorrow” or “Maybe I will like Stay Kids (kpop group) in the future” there is many ways to use the word “maybe”

Q:
Покажите мне примеры предложений с maybe.

A:
Maybe you can do that? Maybe I will drink some coffee

Q:
Покажите мне примеры предложений с maybe.

A:
Maybe he isn’t there.

I maybe going to the park.

There maybe peanuts in the cookies.

She maybe going crazy.

Maybe she said yes.

Please stop, I said maybe you can do it.

Hope this helps!

Q:
Покажите мне примеры предложений с maybe.

A:
“May be” is used like “can be”, though there is a slight difference between the meaning of the two. So, “The woman may be a lawyer” is similar to “The woman can be a lawyer.” But you cannot say that “The woman maybe a lawyer”, while you can say “Maybe the woman is a lawyer”. I can’t explain it that well but I hope you understand me. 😀

Q:
Покажите мне примеры предложений с It’s maybe.

A:
Where’s the restaurant?
It’s maybe 5 minutes down the road.

How old is that antique vase?
It’s maybe… 100 years old?

You say «It’s maybe» before you are guessing about something.

Synonyms of «Maybe» and their differences

Q:
В чем разница между maybe и perhaps ?

A:
@Machete: para mi, perhaps suena más como que estas sugiriendo algo, sería suena más natural como una sugerencia.

Para que puedas ver la diferencia, mira a esta oracion:

Maybe I can go?
Tal vez puedo ir?

Perhaps I can go?
Tal vez pudiera ir yo?

(suena como que estás sugiriendo ir tu más bien)

Q:
В чем разница между maybe и probably ?

A:
They are similar in English too, probably is more likely than maybe… but the meaning is very close.

Q:
В чем разница между maybe и may be ?

A:
«maybe» = «perhaps»

Example: «Maybe I should go to the store and get some bread.»

«may be» = «could be»

Example: «The train may be late today due to the bad weather.»

Q:
В чем разница между maybe и should be и have to be ?

A:
You should be able to read this sentence. Maybe you can not read this sentence. If you want to speak English, you will have to be able to read this sentence.

Q:
В чем разница между «maybe» и «probably» ?

A:
The above answer is off target. «Probably» indicates a better than fifty percent chance. Example: Because it is cloudy, it probably will rain.
«Maybe» can represent a small chance or a larger chance.
Example: Maybe it will rain next week; maybe not.
Are you coming to the party?
Maybe.
Are you coming to the party?
Probably.
The probably person has a much higher chance of showing up at the party.

Translations of «Maybe»

Q:
Как сказать на Английском (американский вариант)? maybe

A:
Check the question to view the answer

Q:
Как сказать на Английском (американский вариант)? maybe

A:
Check the question to view the answer

Q:
Как сказать на Английском (американский вариант)? maybeからが何て言ってるのかわかりません
日本語と英語お願いします

A:
“Nice, maybe they will get married someday.”

Q:
Как сказать на Английском (американский вариант)? maybe

Q:
Как сказать на Английском (британский вариант)? maybe

A:
Maybe (perhaps) he will visit us today.

Other questions about «Maybe»

Q:
Пожалуйста, покажите как произносится maybe.

A:
Check the question to view the answer

Q:
maybe это звучит нормально?

A:
i sounds like «May» (i assume it cut short)
pronounce it like «May-be»

Q:
Maybe yes maybe not это звучит нормально?

A:
«Maybe or Maybe Not»
«Maybe Yes or Maybe No»

Yes is the opposite of no
not is the opposite of whatever «is»

Q:
Okay maybe I will come because I want to go to Oldham for some shopping ,feeling to get new footwear 😃😃😃see u tomorrow then это звучит нормально?

A:
All of it sounds good except you should say «I want to get new footwear (shoes)»

Meanings and usages of similar words and phrases

Latest words

maybe

HiNative is a platform for users to exchange their knowledge about different languages and cultures.

• «Самое главное, что они меня поймут»
  «Самое главное, чтобы они меня понимали»
  Можно ли исполь…
• Как сказать на Русский? как правильно:
  можно придти пораньше?
  нельзя ли пораньше?
  можно ли порань…
• Что значит A-No, it was my fault for asking in the first place.
  B-Well, if there’s any life or d…
• В чем разница между Поехать и Уехать и Приехать ?
• Покажите мне примеры предложений с НАСМОТРЕ́ТЬСЯ
  Что означает? .

• Пожалуйста, купи в магазине какой-нибудь/всякий гель для бритья

  Вроде какой-нибдуь подойдет лучш…

• Я увидел, как она с трудом несет/несла чемодан к выходу

  Оба варианта правильны?

• —> Актуарий
  Actuary
  Вы слышали об этой профессии?
  Известнa ли эта профессия в России?
• Hi there.
  How can I learn speaking russian? Is there any effectively informal learning way? I us…
• «Она всегда покупает только те книги, которые касаются политики» можно ли так сказать?

• 「」とは？
• Как сказать на Английский (американский вариант)? 抽卡
• 図書館へ勉強に行きます
  図書館へ勉強しに行きます
  どちらも正しいですか
• Что значит do u know what’s better than 69?
  it’s 88 because u get 8 twice.

  please explain the jo…

• 正能量夜间网站不用下载直接进入入口

In a comment to a previous post I was asked to write about the difference between the words: “maybe” and “may be.”  That is what I am going to do today!

To begin with let’s talk about the different parts of speech that these two words represent: “maybe” (one word) is an adverb and “may be” (two words) is a verb phrase.

The word “maybe” has the same meaning as the word “perhaps” or “possibly.”  These three words are synonyms.  Therefore “perhaps” and “possibly” are words that can easily be substituted for the word “maybe” in a sentence.

Here are some example sentences using the word “maybe” and explanations:

Maybe we are all going the wrong direction. = Perhaps we are all going the wrong direction.
Maybe, I’m not sure yet. = Probably, I don’t know yet.

The words “may be” represent a verb phrase in which the modal verb ‘may’ expresses possibility and sometimes suggests permission.

Jaime may be here.  = It is possible that Jaime is here.
This may be the best ESL blog ever. = This is possibly the best ESL blog ever.
You may be allowed to enter. = You may have permission to go in.

In a sentence after the verb phrase “may be” you will usually find an adjective, a noun, or a verb ending in -ing.
She may be German. (may be + adjective)
She may be a magician. (may be + article + noun)
She may be working too much. (may be + verb ending in -ing)

So, how are you going to remember the difference between these words.  Here are some tricks:

“Maybe” and the word “adverb” are each one word, so they go together.

“May be” and “verb phrase” and each two words, so they go together.

Also, if you are unsure if you should use the word “maybe” or the phrase “may be,” in a sentences you can see if the word “perhaps” fits in the sentence instead.  If you can put the word “perhaps” into a sentence and it still makes sense then you should be using the word “maybe” in that same sentence.

Maybe you have some other hints or ideas about how to tell these two words apart, if so please share them with us all in the comments on this post.

It may be that you are looking for more ways to learn English?  If so be sure to connect to Transparent Language’s main website and Facebook page.

A compound word is two or more words combined to form a new word. There are many compound words in English, like windmill, strawberry, granddaughter, and maybe.

Maybe also has a near homophone in the phrase may be. Since, in this case, the words are kept separate, it is no longer a compound word. May be is actually a verb phrase.

Is the compound word maybe and the phrase may be ever interchangeable? Continue reading to find out.

What is the Difference Between Maybe and May Be?

In this article, I will discuss the difference between these two: maybe vs. may be. I will give an example of each in a correct sentence. Plus, I will reveal a useful trick to use when you can’t decide whether may be or maybe is appropriate.

When to Use Maybe

What does maybe mean? Maybe is an adverb that indicates possibility. It is therefore a synonym of the adverbs possibly and perhaps.

For example,

• “Maybe later on, you and I can go swimming together down at the holler,” Susanna offered.
• “Maybe,” Tom replied, “but Pa needs me to put the cows out to pasture first.”
• Maybe what you can go online and get tomorrow. (Told you some things had changed.) Maybe what you could buy your partner (ditto). Maybe what to put on a wish list. –The New York Times

When to Use May Be

What does may be mean? May be also indicates possibility, but it is a verb phrase, rather than an adverb.

May be consists of the verbs may and be, which are separate words here, and which refer to something that could happen or a state of affairs that might exist.

For example,

• I may be young, but I am wise beyond my years.
• Mia may be going to the beach today, but only if she doesn’t have to drive herself.
• Rapidly melting Greenland may be shedding its ice even faster than anyone suspected, new research suggests. –The Washington Post

Trick to Remember the Difference

Still confused? Here is a helpful trick to remember may be vs. maybe

May be and maybe are two different parts of speech, and they can’t be substituted for each other.

• May be is a verb phrase.
• Maybe is an adverb.

In the chart below, I isolated the usage of may be and maybe as verbs by graphing usage of the phrases “maybe true” and “may be true” using Google Ngrams.

As you can see, maybe is never used as a verb. This chart references books written in English since 1800, so it’s not compete or scientific, but it’s accurate enough to identify long-term usage patterns.

You can remember to only use the phrase may be as a verb since it contains two separate verbs. By looking at the parts of speech contained in this phrase, it will be easy to know how to use it in a sentence.

Summary

Is it maybe or may be? While these words contain all of the same letters, they do function as different parts of speech, and they cannot be substituted for each other.

• Maybe is an adverb that means possibly or perhaps.
• May be is a verb phrase that indicates something that might happen or a potential state of affairs.

Since the verb phrase may be contains two separate verbs, you will always remember not to use it as an adverb. Likewise, maybe is only ever an adverb, and never a verb.

If you are still confused, you can always refer back to this article to help you remember, and for guidance on whether maybe or may be is the word you want to use.

Although «maybe» looks like the words «may» and «be», it functions separately and differently, just like «however» is not «how ever».

It is also phonologically different. Maybe is /ˈmeɪˌbi/ with stress on the first syllable. May be is /ˈmeɪˈbiː/ with equal stress on both syllables. So we can clearly tell the difference between the two in spoken English.

«Maybe» is related to «may be» the sense that the pattern:

Maybe [clause]

can usually be rewritten, and can perhaps be regarded as a contraction of:

It may be that [clause]

The «it» is a place-holder subject, just like in «it is raining» or «it is said that …».

«Maybe» is a fairly flexible particle which applies to entire clauses («Maybe I should wait»); verb phrases («I think he maybe went home already»), adverb phrases («I can finish that in three hours, or maybe sooner»); adjectives («I don’t remember what color it was: maybe red, maybe orange»); or nouns («I see a vehicle in the distance, maybe a bus, coming this way»). «May be» cannot be in the same way, simply by placing it in front of a clause or phrase. It is a compound verb which requires the formation of a clause with a subject. If we replace all these uses with «may be» we have to rearrange or complicate the sentence so that there is a proper embedded clause built around «may» with a subject: «It may be that I should wait»; «It may be that he went home already»; «I can finish that in about three hours, or it may be that I can finish it sooner»; «It may be that it was red; it may be that it was orange»; «I see a vehicle, which may be a bus, coming this way».

And so,

Maybe it’s time to switch doctors.

can also be expressed as

It may be that it is time to switch doctors.

possibly even with the complementizer omitted:

It may be it is time to switch doctors.

But «May be (/ˈmeɪˈbiː/) /it’s time to switch» is not grammatical. The verb «may» is lacking a subject.