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Defective Verbs in English. In English grammar, defective verb is a traditional term for a verb that doesn't exhibit all the typical forms of a conventional verb. English modal verbs ( can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would) are defective in that they lack distinctive third-person singular and nonfinite forms.
may. 'may' is the model of its conjugation. This defective modal helping verb exists only in the present and preterit tenses. It is followed by a main verb in the bare infinitive, or by [ have + past participle]. Both the present and the preterit may be used in combination with [ have + past participle] to express a guess or a possibility about ...
May - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
May is the more formal word, and if you are at all concerned about being tut-tutted, a safe choice. Can is now the verb of choice for ability, and both can and may are still used in the "possibility" sense. You may use can if you wish, and you can use may if it makes you feel better. Both can be used to seek permission, but may is more formal.
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3 days ago · English Common defectives The most commonly recognized defective verbs in English are auxiliary verbs—the class of preterite-present verbs — can/could, may/might, shall/should, must, ought, and will/would (would being a later historical development). Though these verbs were not originally defective, in most varieties of English today, they occur only in a modal auxiliary sense. However ...
Aug 19, 2018 · 4. There aren't many defective verbs in English, but it's difficult to say exactly how many there are because some words might or might not be defective, depending on how willing you are to accept weird-sounding forms. For example, various linguists seem to have noted that for many English speakers, nothing sounds natural as the past participle ...
6 (formal) used to say what the purpose of something is There is a need for more resources so that all children may be entitled to a decent education. Grammar modal verbs The modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will , and would .
