"We maybe have a problem" or "Maybe we have a problem"? Do we put "maybe" before a verb?

Question

Maybe is an adverb.

Normally, people put "Maybe" at the beginning of a sentence.

Ex: Maybe we have a problem

My question is:

Do we put "maybe" before a verb? Ex: "We maybe have a problem" it sounds very strange.

It is very good if your answer includes some referencing source.

Is your question about why it can't appear there or simply about what we would say instead since we can't say "maybe have." — Teacher KSHuang, Jan 10 '17 at 10:07
Possible duplicate of Where should the word “probably” be placed Also Question about “surely” and “certainly”. — FumbleFingers, Jan 10 '17 at 16:08
@Teacher KSHuang: We certainly can say things like we maybe have - it's just that idiomatically it's not particularly common in OP's exact context. — FumbleFingers, Jan 10 '17 at 16:17

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 10 '17 at 15:00

Maybe is what's known as an adverb of certainty or adverb of probability - it's used to show how certain we are about something. Commonly used adverbs of probability are:

certainly - definitely - maybe - possibly

clearly - obviously - perhaps - probably

...and the position of the adverb in the sentence depends on the adverb being used.

In the case of maybe, it is most often placed at the beginning of a sentence (more specifically, at the beginning of a clause)

Maybe I will be there.

Maybe we’ll go out to eat tonight.

If you are tired, then maybe it is time to go home.

In certain situations, maybe can be placed at the end of a sentence, for example, if we are making a suggestion which we are not very certain about.

A: My car won't start.
B: It could be the battery, maybe.

As mentioned in the comments, maybe can also be a sentence in itself, for example, if we wish to express uncertainty in response to a suggestion:

A: Would you like to have chicken curry for dinner?

B: Maybe.

...or if we agree that something is possible:

A: Do you think we can get to the movie theatre before 7:00?

B: Maybe.

Looking your two suggested sentences

We maybe have a problem.
Maybe we have a problem.

...it should take the form of maybe [clause], therefore

Maybe we have a problem.

...is the better choice.

Teacher KSHuang · Answer 2 · 2017-01-10T10:16:52.677

-3

Short Answer: No, we don't.

Long Answer: Your gut is correct. We would say,

We might have a problem.

We may have a problem.

It may be that we have a problem. (If you really want to use "may" and "be."

As for a reference link, I simply Googled "maybe may be".

And this is a reference link on adverb placement. Scroll down to "Certainty or obligation" in the table.

Longer Answer: However, it's not completely uncommon nor wrong in that people still do it, so perhaps the rule is not a hard and fast one.

What do you think? Do the example ones of "maybe have" sound weird to you?

edited Jan 10 '17 at 10:16

answered Jan 10 '17 at 09:56

Teacher KSHuang

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Hmm... what do think about these examples? https://www.google.com/search?q="we+maybe+have"&tbm=bks – Damkerng T. Jan 10 '17 at 10:15
@DamkerngT. Heh, thanks. I had actually been interrupted in the middle of including similar examples in my answer. – Teacher KSHuang Jan 10 '17 at 10:17
We maybe will find that rules describing adverb placement are a bit more complicated. – Jim Reynolds Jan 10 '17 at 12:16
A key is that maybe can modify an entire sentence, or certain parts of a sentence. – Jim Reynolds Jan 10 '17 at 12:18
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Or even be a sentence. Maybe. – Jim Reynolds Jan 10 '17 at 12:19
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@Jim: Or even be maybe a sentence. – FumbleFingers Jan 10 '17 at 16:20
@Fum Houston, maybe we be a problem. – Jim Reynolds Jan 10 '17 at 17:57

"We maybe have a problem" or "Maybe we have a problem"? Do we put "maybe" before a verb?

2 Answers2