Maybe vs. May be

[vladz]

What are the differences of "maybe" and "may be". Please give me sample sentences so it would be clear to me. Thanks.

[Casiopea]

What are the differences of "maybe" and "may be". Please give me sample sentences so it would be clear to me. Thanks.

maybe is an adverb; may be is a verb.

verb: It may be ('may be' comes after the subject "It")
adverb: Maybe it ('maybe' comes before the subject "It")

EX: Maybe you should call John. (Subject "you")
EX: John may be at work. (Subject "John")

maybe, like other adverbs, can also occur in other positions in the sentence:

EX: It's going to rain, maybe.
EX: It maybe is going to rain.
EX: Maybe it's going to rain.

When in doubt, if you are not sure if you should use 'maybe' or 'may be', try moving 'maybe/may be' to the end of the sentence:

EX: John at work, maybe. (Incorrect. There is no verb after "John", so 'may be' should be two words and it should come after the subject: John may be at work.)
EX: You should call John, maybe. (Correct. 'maybe' should be one word)

[vladz]

So, could I say that "mabe" is equivalent to "perhaps" and "may be" is to "might be" ?