Maybe / may be
Heidita, in the final section, you said may be (was that supposed to be Maybe?) - rbrown201
I could say this was a typo, not a surprising fact...
but no, I always thought it was written like this, may be.
Can it never be written seperately? 
18 Answers
| Maybe Heidita had a problem with "maybe" and "may be" because of a failure to teach her correctly in the first place. It may be that now that she has asked for our help she may be able to set things right and maybe her problem will go away. On the other hand, maybe not. | Quiza Heidita tenido un problema con 'quiza' y 'puede ser' debido a un error de enseñarle correctamente en el primer lugar. Lo puede ser que ahora que se ha solicitado nuestra ayuda ella puede ser capaz de arreglar las cosas y quiza el problema va a desaparecer. Por otra parte, quizá no. |
If it helps, you could try thinking of them like this.
Maybe - perhaps - quizá
May be - (something / someone) may be - puede ser
Quizá mañana puede ser un gran día.
Maybe the key to the "may be" question is: "He may be delayed, he usually arrives on time." Maybe he's been delayed.." Subtle I know, but for me you seperate "may "from "be" to emphasise the possibility whereas "maybe" carries a connotation of speculation.
He may be here on time.
"be" is the verb and "may" is the Modal and used here instead of might / and you would never think of writing mightbe (as one word) would you?
Maybe he will arrive on time. "will arrive" is the verb.
Maybe is an adverb and therefore needs a verb to go with it in a sentence.
Hi Heidita,
It might help to notice that the two are also distinct parts of speech.
• Maybe - adverb
• May be - verb phrase
Since "may be" is a verb phrase you would expect it to be preceded (in a statement) by the subject of the sentence.
• She may be in trouble.
• The book may be on the table.
• The next president of the US may be a woman.
On the other hand it might also help to recognize that the adverb "maybe" finds its origins in the impersonal phrase, "it may be" (from Middle English). In this sense, the word can be thought of as a synonym to the adverb "perhaps."
• It may be that she is in trouble/Maybe she is in trouble.
• It may be that the book is on the table/Maybe the book is on the table.
• It may be that the next president of the US will be a woman/Maybe the next president of the US will be a woman.
• It may be that they will do it tomorrow./Maybe they will do it tomorrow.
• I thought it may be that this would do the trick and it actually did/I thought maybe this would do the trick and it actually did
Espero que te sirva, amiga 
Just try to remember "may" where you would use might I might be wrong, It might be a typo, you might be correct, etc.
Think of "maybe" as a simple one word answer like yes, no, or maybe [perhaps]. Are you going diving? Maybe.
Of course it can, but it means that something is likely to happen, like "could be".
It's not a likely statement but I doubt anyone would find anything grammatically wrong with it.
"Maybe" is like an old fashioned scale where u put the objects in the bowls and the heavier side sinks. "Maybe" could go either way. For example: "Maybe I should try this" (or maybe I shouldn't)
"May be" is a possibility or an option. For example: "It may be better for me not to even try that."
Quizá mañana puede ser un gran día.
I would word for word translate this as :
"Maybe tomorrow may be a great day."
But then, maybe there are too many may's and too many be's and it may be that it could be said as;
"May tomorrow be a better day."
But maybe that changes the sentence from a passing comment to a prayer. Maybe God is listening or what may be more likely is that maybe he is busy attending to more urgent business that may be making demands on his time. Or maybe I'm nuts.
Heidi Said
I always thought it was written like this, may be. Can it never be written seperately?
Well there are two answers to this question.
1) Maybe, ie possibly
2) It may be written seperately, as in this sentence.
hide, but then this sentence:
Quizá mañana puede ser un gran día.
Maybe tomorrow will be a great day.
or
Tomorrow may be a great day.
or
Tomorrow, maybe, may be a great day.
Hmmmm, the last sentence looks weird, but should be correct...is it?
"Maybe" goes at the beginning of a sentence, or the end as an afterthought, or to connect two sentences.
Great lesson Moe.
Tomorrow, maybe, may be a great day.
Hmmmm, the last sentence looks weird, but should be correct...is it?
Aside from the fact that the sentence is awkwardly constructed, I would avoid such redundancies if I were you. With such a sentence you are essentially saying, "It may be that tomorrow may be a great day."
Can you tell that in the case of your sentence both the adverb (maybe) and the verb phrase (may be) act to set up the future possibility of tomorrow being a great day, and using both in the same sentence like this would be an unnecessary redundancy that is best to be avoided. You might try one of the following
• Maybe tomorrow will be a great day. [setting up future possibility with adverb]
• Tomorrow might be a great day. [both "may" and "might" are modals that can be used to set up a possibility, but might generally has a stronger connotation of future sense and would fit better in this sentence]
I wonder would a similarly constructed sentence be as odd in Spanish considering the origin of the word quizá [Latin qui sapit > quién sabe > quizá]
Mañana, quien sabe, quizá sea un buen día.
