When Do I use perhaps?

MAYBE / PERHAPS

InBritish English both of these adverbs

are still very commonly used and have
the same meaning. You use them to
say that something is possible or may
be true, but you are not certain.
MAYBE / PERHAPS

They can be used interchangeably but

of the two, maybe is very appropriate
for more informal contexts
and perhaps is used in more formal
situations. Compare the following:
 MAYBE / PERHAPS

I can't find it anywhere.

~ Perhaps / Maybe you threw it away.
How old is Jane? ~ I don't really know. In her
twenties, certainly. Twenty-five, maybe.
MAYBE / PERHAPS

There were perhaps as many as fifty

badly wounded soldiers in the hospital.
Perhaps I should explain to you how
they came to be there.
MAYBE / PERHAPS

StPaul's Cathedral is perhaps one of

London's most prominent landmarks.
Why don't you join us for the New Year
celebrations? ~
Yeah, perhaps / maybe I will.
Maybe you are right! Perhaps it would
be best if you didn't invite Johnnie
MAYBE / PERHAPS

Note that perhaps is pronounced 'praps'.

Note also from the above illustrations
that perhaps and maybe can be used to
refer to past, present or future events.
MAY / MIGHT

Similarly, we can use the modal

auxiliaries may or might to say that there is
a chance that something is true
or may happen. May and might are used to
talk about present or future events. They
can normally be used interchangeably,
although might may suggest a smaller
chance of something happening. Compare
the following:
MAY / MIGHT

I may go into town tomorrow for the

Christmas sales. And
James might come with me!
What are you doing over the New Year,
Ann? ~ Oh, I maygo to Scotland, but
there again, I might stay at home.
MAY / MIGHT

Ifyou go to bed early tonight,

you may / might feel better tomorrow.
Ifyou went to bed early tonight,
you might feel better tomorrow.
One of my New Year resolutions is to go to
the gym twice a week! ~ And
pigs might fly!
MAY / MIGHT

Note that 'Pigs might fly' is a fixed

expression and always usesmight. It means
that something will never happen.
Inthe first conditional example, will
perhaps could be substituted.
Ifyou go to bed early tonight,
you may / might feel better tomorrow.
MAY / MIGHT

In the second conditional example,

where might is an alternative
for would perhaps, may cannot be
substituted.
If you went to bed early tonight,
you might feel better tomorrow.