may
/meɪ/verb
Early Childhood
1
To be strong; to have power (over).
2
To be able; can.
3
To be able to go.
4
To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.
5
Expressing a present possibility; possibly.
6
Expressing a disjunctive or contrastive relation between indicative statements.
7
Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect).
8
Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a question or remark.
Sound Patterns & Rhymes
Alliteration
Words starting with the same consonant sound — used in poetry and prose to create rhythm, emphasis, and memorable phrasing (e.g. “Peter Piper picked”)
Assonance
Words sharing similar vowel sounds regardless of starting letter — creates internal melody in writing
#obsolete