can2
【问】 Mom，can I go to the movies with Sally this afternoon? (《托福应试练习大全·语法分册》，P.193)
这道试题的答案要求将can改为may。这使我感到很惊讶，许多语法书和词典上都提到can可以用来表示“请求”或“允许”。
Can I borrow your car?(《大学英语语法》)
Can I smoke here?(《高级英语语法》)
【答】 用can表示请求(requests for)或允许(permission)是现代语法学家所认可的。
1. Can we borrow these books from the library? (A Comprehensive Grammar of the Eng-lish Language)
2.
3. May I go with you? May I? (can/may inter-replaceable in this sense)(同上)
但是，may属正式语体，语气比较客气，而can则多用于日常会话。大家都知道，许多出题者推崇正式语体，而排斥口语体，因此便出现了上面的试题。但是，我们认为，他们似乎做过了头。因为规定语法学派也承认，甚至在上面所讨论的意义中用can比用may更为常见，更为随便一些。
赵振才 编著.英语常见问题解答大词典.哈尔滨：黑龙江人民出版社.1998.第231-232页.
- in milk/in the milk
- in nature/in the nature
- in no circumstances
- in no time/at no time
- in no time/at no time
- in occupation of /in the occupation of
- in/on the avenue
- in open/in the open
- in open/in the open
- in order that
- in order that/so that
- in order to do/to do
- in order to/in order that
- in order to/in order that
- in order to/in order that
- in order to/so as to
- in place of/in the place of
- in possession of/in the possession of
- in prison/in the prison
- in proportion to
- in proportion to
- in red/in the red
- in result/in the result
- in rough/in the rough
- in school/at school