What does the word "may" mean in terms of certainty?

Question

For example in this sentence:

This may mean he believes the document is authentic.

What does this phrase mean? Does it mean it is certain the man thinks the document is authentic or it is only possible/we are unsure he does for certain.

How about, may, for probability over half, and, might, for under a half? — G. Rem laughs at the MonicaC's, Dec 14 '22 at 03:43
This sort of usage is normally followed by "but" or "however", which indicates it is not certain or only one of multiple possibilities. — Stuart F, Dec 14 '22 at 14:12
To know the answer to your question, I need to know the context in which the sentence is set: in other words, what does "this" refer to. The probability is that whoever "he" is, he says something that falls short of actually saying "I think this is authentic" but in someway hints that that is what he thinks. — Tuffy, Dec 15 '22 at 23:54

John Lawler · Answer 1 · 2022-12-15T19:48:06.073

May is a modal auxiliary verb. There are nine of them in English, and they're all weird, irregular, and illogical. So it's not surprising you're puzzled. One of their features is that they all have several kinds of meaning.

In particular, may, like all modals, has two senses (with different strange names, naturally):

The Epistemic /ɛpə'stɛmək/ sense of may, which has to do with possibility or probability, but only in the opinion of the speaker. E.g,

This may be the place where we turn.
He may be lost.
That may not be the place, after all.
She may be home already; the snow's stopped.
You may be surprised to hear that he's dead.

The Deontic /de'yantək/ sense of may, which has to do with permission and social authority, but only in the opinion of the speaker, once again; e.g,

May we come in?
You may now open the test booklet.
Cinderella may attend the ball, under certain conditions.
May I be of service?
You may not use our slogan any longer.

Note that, in a social context, permission means possibility, especially in a culture where whatever is not compulsory is forbidden, like schools or prisons.

The presenting example

This may mean he believes the document is authentic.

occurs in a context with previous discourse, including whatever the referents for this, he, and the document are. Given that, what it means is that, in the opinion of the speaker, there is a possibility (ranging from 1% to 100%, with no other clues) that he believes the document is authentic.

There is no certainty at all in the meaning of that sentence; it's all possibility. Use of modals of any kind (whether they refer to Possibility, like may, or Necessity, like must) precludes certainty. Contrast the sentences with modals below, with the sentence at the end, which simply asserts certainty:

This may be the one they told us about. (may is a Possible modal)
This must be the one they told us about. (must is a Necessary modal)
This is the one they told us about. (no modals)

Wow, that took a dark, totalitarian turn (cf. The Once and Future King) right before the presenting example. Otherwise comprehensive, as usual. — Robusto, Dec 15 '22 at 19:18
I could hear the German of it in my mind's ear; but that's the scope of deontic modality, after all. Rules, of whatever sort, to which people feel obliged to follow, made by people to whom speakers feel obliged. In a political setting, that's what "possible" and "necessary" translate to, and they used the same modals. — John Lawler, Dec 15 '22 at 19:55

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 14 '22 at 02:18

It is uncertain whether he believes it is certainly authentic.

Usually the sort of context for this would be a situation where someone is pointing that certain acts of his are explicable if he believes it to be authentic, although it does not preclude other explanations, such as, he could be hedging his bets in case it is, or he has another motive entirely.

What does the word "may" mean in terms of certainty?

2 Answers2