In the song Tonight Again, there’s a line going
They may be right but only maybe
I understand that “maybe” is an adverb, while “may be” is a combination of the verbs “may” and “be”, as mentioned in this question. However, is there any difference in the degree of certainty between the two, as might be suggested by the “but only”?
Answer
I wouldn’t say there is.
Consider:
There’s a chance they are right, but only a chance.
The but only is just highlighting the lack of absolute certainty. It doesn’t imply any difference in probability between the two cases.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Andrew Grimm , Answer Author : Tushar Raj
