Maybe vs may be

Do you have a minute to spare to learn some English? Dan's going to demonstrate the difference between 'maybe' and 'may be'. Give us 60 seconds and we'll give you the English!

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Maybe vs May be

May
May is used to talk about possibility - and not a very certain one. May is a modal verb. This means that it doesn't change its form for different subject pronouns or to show time. Modal verbs are always followed by a bare infinitive verb.  

May be
May is always followed by a bare infinitive verb. The bare infinitive form of 'be' is 'be'! 

Maybe
Maybe is an adverb with a few different uses. Most commonly, it means  'perhaps' or 'possibly'. When used in this way, maybe goes at the beginning of the sentence. If we use maybe in front of an amount, it can mean 'around' or 'approximately'.

• May be she's at work.
• May be we'll take a holiday this year.
• I've  got maybe five hundreds in my pocket.

Common words that you have been pronouncing incorrectly

English is the second official language in India and according to recent studies our country has the highest number of English speakers. However, there are several frequently used words which are often mispronounced. The way your words sound can have a big impact on whether or not people understand what you are saying. Clear speech and correct pronunciation are just as important as listening and conversational skills.

Here’s a list of the commonly mispronounced words and how to say them correctly:

1. Breakfast

Incorrect : Break - fast
                        

Correct: Brek - fust 
(/ˈbrekfəst/)

2. February

Incorrect: Feb-yoo-ar-ee

Correct: Feb-roo-ar-ee 
(/ˈfebruəri/)

3. Violence
    

Incorrect: Voi-lence
    
Correct: why-lence 

(/ˈvaɪələns/)

4. Coupon

Incorrect: Koo-pun

Correct: Koo-pawn 
(/ˈkuːpɒn/)

5. Pizza

Incorrect: pee-za or piz-ah 

Correct: peet-zah (/ˈpiːtsə/) 

 

6. Data

    Incorrect: daa-ta

    Correct: day-ta (/ˈdeɪtə/)

 7. Video

 Incorrect: vee-diyo

Correct: vid-i-yoh
(/ˈvɪdiəʊ/)

8. Almond

Incorrect: Al-mund

Correct: Ah-mund 
(/ˈɑːmənd/)

9. Women

 Incorrect: woo-men

 Correct: wih-men (/ˈwɪmən/)

10. Bowl

    Incorrect: Baa-ool

    Correct: Boh-l (/bəʊl/)

So, how can you solve this problem and improve your spoken English? As a learner of English, there are several ways to ensure that your pronunciation is correct. We suggest some basic tips that are easy to follow and practise.

First, refer to good online dictionaries such as Oxford, Cambridge, or Merriam-Webster, to know how a word is pronounced. 

Second, focus more on listening skills. This will automatically take care of the way you say certain words. Once you’ve listened to the words, you can try repeating them.

Third, become familiar with the concept of word stress, intonation, and silent letters. Word stress explains how words are broken into syllables and how the different syllables need to be said whereas intonation refers to the rise and fall of our voice when we make full sentences. 

And of course, you must watch videos and listen to songs to speak better English. YouTube has a lot of free content which you can access. Lastly, you can enroll for an English speaking course which will assist in building your overall confidence and you will also learn the different aspects of the language - grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

If you follow these tips regularly, you will definitely be speaking clearly and confidently. So, what are you waiting for? Go grab your cup of tea and start practising!