What's the Difference Between Maybe and May Be? | Maybe vs May Be

Difference Between Maybe and May Be

'Maybe' is a single word. It's an adverb which means 'perhaps' or 'possibly'. 'Maybe' usually comes at the beginning of a sentence (Before the subject and verb).

Let's Understand This By Taking Some Examples,

1) Maybe he will come tomorrow.

2) Maybe it will rain tonight.

3) Maybe she is in the office now.

4) Maybe I'll see you soon.

* The common structure of using 'maybe' as an adverb is: [Maybe + Subject + Verb + The rest of the sentence]

Have a Look At The Conversations Below,

Joseph: Mick knows everything.

Jonathon: Maybe

Let's Take Another conversation,

Tom: Jane was absent from class today.

John: Maybe she is tired of yesterday's long journey.

On the other hand, 'May be' is a verb phrase consisting of two different words 'May' and 'Be' where 'May' is a modal verb used to express a possibility and 'Be' is the main verb. Thus, 'May be' indicates or expresses possibility.

Let's Understand This By Taking Some Examples,

1) She may be waiting for you.

2) This may be the best playground in the city.

3) He may be absent tomorrow.

4) This may be her first meeting with Jack.

More Examples [Using 'Maybe' and 'May be']

1) Maybe our meeting will be postponed until our boss returns. [Here 'maybe' means 'perhaps' or 'possibly'.]

2) Maybe he will stop crying soon. [Perhaps he will stop crying soon.]

3) He may be/might be creative or Maybe he is creative.

4) Our boss was sick yesterday so he may be\might be absent from work today.

5) Don't call Tom. He may be at work. or Don't call him. Maybe he's at work.