Maybe vs. May be：許多學生搞不清楚正確用法，差一個空格差很多！

Maybe vs. May be

maybe與may be讓許多學生搞不清楚。別再糾結了，看完下列的說明，一勞永逸排除這困惑吧！首先，maybe是副詞，意思是「或許；可能；也許」。習慣放句首。相對地，may be是助動詞may，後面接原形be動詞，翻譯為「或許是；可能是；也許是」。因此，以後你再說：He maybe a killer.，那你就大錯特錯了，因為這句子竟然沒有動詞，完全不符合英文的基本句構習慣。應該說：He may be a killer.才對喔！

Maybe

= probably = possibly = likely或許；也許；可能 (adv.)☆ maybe通常放句首。

例句

Maybe you are right. ( O )= You are probably/possibly/likely right. (或許你是對的。)You maybe right. ( X )☆ 這句沒有動詞，故不對。

Maybe he will win the championship. = He will probably/possibly/likely win the championship.(他可能將贏得冠軍頭銜。)

Maybe she stole the gold. = She probably/possibly/likely stole the gold.(也許她偷走這些黃金。)

May be

= be probably/possibly/likely或許/也許/可能是(助動詞 + be原形)

例句

Maybe you are right. = You may be right.(或許你是對的。)

Maybe he is already dead. = He may be already dead.(她也許已經死了。)

Maybe the rain will stop soon. = The rain may stop soon.(這場雨可能很快就會停了。)

Maybe she lied to you.= She probably/possibly/likely lied to you.= She may/might have lied to you.(她可能騙了你。)☆ S may/might have P.P.(1) 過去可能曾經/已經...(2) 表對於過去事情的猜測(3) may口氣較強，might口氣較弱。例1：Tom may/might have been injured yesterday. (昨天湯姆可能受傷了。)例2：I may/might have left my purse on the bus. (我當時可能把我的皮包遺忘在公車上。)

重點整理

Maybe S be...= S be probably/possibly/likely...= S may be...主詞可能是...☆ Maybe放句首，may前有主詞，後有原形動詞。

很多人學英文，只是一味地死背單字的中文意思，而不知道這個字該怎麼用。長久下來，腦袋裡面塞了一堆單字，等到要閱讀文章或造句寫作時，這些單詞顯得零碎雜亂，幾乎沒有什麼用處。王安英文推出一系列「易混淆單字」的精闢整理，希望幫助有心學好英文的人，透過系統整理，把單字背好背滿！不但要知道一個字的中文意思，更要學會該字在一個句子中扮演什麼角色。這麼一來，你的閱讀與寫作能力必定會有大幅的進步喔！