Perhaps and Maybe
2024-09-14
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Renata in Brazil about the usage of the words "perhaps" and "maybe."
2Dear Teacher,
3I'm trying to learn English, but from now I [have] a question about what's the difference between "perhaps" and "maybe".
4Thank you for writing to us, Renata.
5I'm happy to answer this question.
6The two words mean the same thing.
7We use them to express the idea that we are guessing or unsure about something.
8However, there are some differences in how we use the two words.
9Language researchers use the Corpus of Contemporary American English to study the usage of words.
10They have found that speakers of American English use "maybe" more than twice as often as the word "perhaps."
11The Corpus contains over one billion words collected from American print, video, and audio media.
12Here is an example of the use of "maybe:"
13A: Are you going to the beach this weekend?
14B: Maybe-but I need to check the weather first.
15In this situation, if a speaker used the word "perhaps" instead of "maybe," it might sound too formal, or serious, in American English.
16However, in written English, we often use the word "perhaps" instead of "maybe."
17You can find many examples of both of these words in stories on our website at learningenglish.voanews.com.
18In writing, we can use commas to place the word "perhaps" between phrases or clauses in a sentence. Consider this example:
19It is easy, perhaps, to train a young dog to obey its owner. But training an older dog might not be so easy.
20Note that if we put the word "maybe" in place of "perhaps" in this writing example, it might not seem like good writing to a native speaker.
21Sometimes a writer will choose to use the word "maybe" instead of "perhaps" to communicate a particular feeling. Consider the following example:
22Government officials say the new trade deal will help the economies of both countries.
23Maybe. Such predictions have often been wrong in the past.
24Here, by using the word "maybe," the writer communicates more strongly a feeling that the government officials might be wrong.
25Finally, be careful not to confuse the adverb "maybe" with the verb phrase "may be."
26You can learn more about this by reading the Ask a Teacher program called "Maybe and May Be Are 'Driving Me Crazy.'"
27For our readers and listeners, do you have a question about American English?
28Perhaps you would like to know how American English has changed over the years.
29Or maybe you just need to know how to use particular words.
30Whatever your question may be, send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
31And that's Ask a Teacher.
32I'm Andrew Smith.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Renata in Brazil about the usage of the words "perhaps" and "maybe." 2Question 3Dear Teacher, 4I'm trying to learn English, but from now I [have] a question about what's the difference between "perhaps" and "maybe". 5Answer 6Thank you for writing to us, Renata. I'm happy to answer this question. 7The two words mean the same thing. We use them to express the idea that we are guessing or unsure about something. However, there are some differences in how we use the two words. 8Language researchers use the Corpus of Contemporary American English to study the usage of words. They have found that speakers of American English use "maybe" more than twice as often as the word "perhaps." The Corpus contains over one billion words collected from American print, video, and audio media. 9Here is an example of the use of "maybe:" 10A: Are you going to the beach this weekend? 11B: Maybe-but I need to check the weather first. 12In this situation, if a speaker used the word "perhaps" instead of "maybe," it might sound too formal, or serious, in American English. 13However, in written English, we often use the word "perhaps" instead of "maybe." You can find many examples of both of these words in stories on our website at learningenglish.voanews.com. 14In writing, we can use commas to place the word "perhaps" between phrases or clauses in a sentence. Consider this example: 15It is easy, perhaps, to train a young dog to obey its owner. But training an older dog might not be so easy. 16Note that if we put the word "maybe" in place of "perhaps" in this writing example, it might not seem like good writing to a native speaker. 17Sometimes a writer will choose to use the word "maybe" instead of "perhaps" to communicate a particular feeling. Consider the following example: 18Government officials say the new trade deal will help the economies of both countries. Maybe. Such predictions have often been wrong in the past. 19Here, by using the word "maybe," the writer communicates more strongly a feeling that the government officials might be wrong. 20Finally, be careful not to confuse the adverb "maybe" with the verb phrase "may be." You can learn more about this by reading the Ask a Teacher program called "Maybe and May Be Are 'Driving Me Crazy.'" 21For our readers and listeners, do you have a question about American English? Perhaps you would like to know how American English has changed over the years. Or maybe you just need to know how to use particular words. Whatever your question may be, send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 22And that's Ask a Teacher. 23I'm Andrew Smith. 24Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 25_______________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27comma -n. a punctuation mark that often separates clauses, phrases, or words in a series 28phrase -n. a group of words that express an idea but do not form a complete sentence 29clause -n. a group of words expressing an idea that can, on their own, form a sentence 30adverb -n. a word that modifies a word expressing action, time, place, manner or degree