[1]
Negated
Ex: She may not be at school.
=> There's a possibility that she is not at school.
[1] She may be not a student, ...
Meaning => True, she is not a student, she's a teacher, but she works just as hard as a student. She studies English at home on her own time.
[2] She may not be a student.
Meaning => There is a possibility that she is not a student.
Modal may, like modal must, is ambiguous between epistemic and deontic modality:
Deontic modality
Ex: She may go to school.
=> permission; e.g., she is allowed to go.
Negated
Ex: She may not go to school.
=> permission to go to school is denied.
Epistempic modality
Ex: She may be at school.
=> possibility;e.g., It is possible that she is at school.
Negated
Ex: She may not be at school.
=> There's a possibility that she is not at school.
Ex: She may be not at school, but ...
=> True, she is not at school, she's at home, but she's at home studying right now as if she were in school.Does that help?
What if want to say that she was granted a permission not to go to school? I.e. deny go instead of may.Ex: She may not go to school.
=> permission to go to school is denied.
If so, you can say the following sentences.What if I want to say that she was granted [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] permission to not go to school? Is this what you mean?
I.e. deny go instead of may. I don't know what you mean here..
That sentence can also be expressed like this:
Maybe she is not at school.
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NOTE:
:turn-l:Bear in mind I'm not a teacher!:turn-l:
What is the difference between "may be not" and "may not be" ?
Example:
- She may be not a student.
- She may not be a student.
==> Do the two sentences have the same meaning?
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