student: can i borrow a pencil
teacher: i don’t know, CAN you?
student: yes, also colloquial irregularities occur frequently in any language and since you and the rest of our present company understood my intended meaning being particular about the distinctions between “can” and “may” is purely pedantic and arguably pretentious
May was always the month when my elementary teachers were particularly militant about “may I” vs. “can I”.
“IT’S MAY, YOU GUYS, MAY MAY MAY MAY.”
