かもしれない Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Auxiliary Adjective
Essential Meaning: Perhaps / X may be the case
Construction:
- (Verb / い-Adjective) informal + かもしれない
- E.g. 食べるかもしれない [Perhaps X eats]
- E.g. 話すかもしれない [Perhaps X speaks]
- (な-Adjective Stem / Noun) + [X / だった] + かもしれない
- E.g. 静かかもしれない [Perhaps X is quiet]
- E.g. 先生かもしれない [Perhaps X is a teacher]
Notes:
- かもしれない is an auxiliary adjective that is used to express a very low level of certainty about some proposition. On a scale of certainty, にちがいない is highly certain, だろう is moderately certain, and かもしれない is not at all certain. In English, にちがいない, だろう, and かもしれない roughly equate to ”Certainly“, “Probably“, and “Perhaps“, respectively.
- かもしれない is used when the speaker’s conjecture is based on logical reasoning. When a speaker’s conjecture is instead based on physical or perceptual evidence, そうだ (Conjecture) should be used instead.
- E.g. このケーキは美味しいかもしれない。[This cake may be delicious, perhaps.] The use of かもしれない implies that the speaker’s impression of the cake is not based on perceptual evidence; it is based on some sort of logic or reasoning. For example, the speaker may presume that the cake is delicious based on the fact that it is expensive.
- E.g. このケーキは美味しそうです。[This cake looks good.] The use of そうだ (Conjecture) implies that the speaker’s impression of the cake is based on sensory evidence (e.g. smell or taste).
Example Sentences:
午後雨が降るかもしれない。[It may rain in the evening.]
あの先生の授業はつまらないかもしれない。[That teacher’s lessons may be boring.]
京都の桜はまだきれいかもしれない。[Perhaps Kyoto’s cherry blossoms are still beautiful.]
今年の冬は大変寒くなるかもしれない。[This winter will perhaps be very cold.]
この映画はあなたにはつまらないかもしれない。[This movie may be boring for you.]
中国語の文法は日本語の文法より簡単かもしれない。[Perhaps Chinese grammar is easier than Japanese grammar.]
あれは鈴木先生かもしれないよ。[That may be Suzuki-sensei.]
WILD Examples:
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