⚡ Black Friday Offer: Click here and shop now!

TextRanch

The best way to perfect your writing.

Discover why 1,062,726 users count on TextRanch to get their English corrected!

1. Input your text below.
2. Get it corrected in a few minutes by our editors.
3. Improve your English!

One of our experts will correct your English.

Our experts

this may take some time vs this can take some time

Both phrases are correct and are commonly used in English. They convey a similar meaning, that something might need a certain amount of time. The choice between the word 'may' and the word 'can' depends on the context and the level of certainty or possibility the speaker wants to express.
Miss E. profile picture

Explained by Miss E.
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: September 16, 2024 • 18960 views

this may take some time

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate that something might require a certain amount of time.

This phrase is used to express a possibility or likelihood that something will take time. 'May' suggests a higher level of uncertainty compared to 'can.'

Examples:

  • This may take some time to complete.
  • The repair may take some time to finish.
  • The process may take some time to complete.
  • Sep 15, 2017 ... This may take some time... And after waiting for 5 hours I closed the process. Unfortunately now my certain packages seem to be broken. e.g when ...
  • Sep 23, 2020 ... While I was trying to install kubuntu-desktop on wsl2(Ubuntu 20.04) on windows 10. ... Initializing mlocate database; this may take some time...
  • Apr 13, 2015 ... 7 (this may take some time)...". I resolved this problem by commenting the $JAVA_HOME variable in bashrc, and restarting the terminal. You ...
  • Jun 10, 2020 ... Stuck at this warning for >20 min: UserWarning: Distributing <class 'dict'> object. This may take some time. #1572. Closed.
  • Nov 7, 2018 ... Why does my phone say “waiting for activation, this may take some time”. so I've had my iPhone 8 for a year now and for the last 6 months it ...
  • Jun 11, 2024 ... This may take some time... done. Pregenerating ConTeXt MarkIV format. This may take some time... It's stuck here. Upvote 1. Downvote Reply ...
  • Nov 3, 2010 ... When I put the sim card in it said Waiting for activation this may take some time. It has been almost 2 days now and nothing has happened ...
  • Mar 4, 2024 ... This may take some time." I restarted the software, checked for corrupted data, and uninstalled then reinstalled the software, but I'm still ...
  • Calling FFC just-in-time (JIT) compiler, this may take some time · Eloi January 23, 2020, 9:02am 1. Hello, As the title say, calling this compiler take some ...
  • Sep 18, 2024 ... Pregenerating ConTeXt MarkIV format. This may take some time... for a few hours. I press the key Return about 10 times and the install went on.

Alternatives:

  • This might take some time
  • This could take some time
  • This is likely to take some time
  • This is expected to take some time
  • This will probably take some time

this can take some time

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate that something is capable of taking a certain amount of time.

This phrase is used to express a possibility or capability that something will take time. 'Can' suggests a slightly higher level of certainty compared to 'may.'

Examples:

  • This can take some time to complete.
  • The process can take some time to finish.
  • The repair can take some time to complete.
  • Oct 5, 2022 ... This can take some time. ... This can take some time.
  • Sep 28, 2018 ... Adding additional mtime index to the filecache table, this can take some time… Filecache table updated successfully. And thats all, the problem ...
  • Nov 14, 2023 ... Starting Mutagen sync process... This can take some time - 10 minutes+ #5539. Closed.
  • Oct 1, 2020 ... This can take some time… ==> default: Checking if box 'centos/7' version '2004.01' is up to date… ==> default: Verifying vmnet devices are ...
  • Jan 26, 2024 ... I have installed Node Red, hopefully successfully. When I try to start it, it says “The add-on is starting, this can take some time...” for a few seconds.
  • May 15, 2020 ... This can take some time and my MBP's fan comes on. Is it possible you just aren't waiting for the rendering passes to complete?
  • Aug 25, 2023 ... ... this can take some time and it depends on how large or complex is your file. Another case are libraries, when you edit several symbols and ...
  • Feb 11, 2012 ... I've configured an FTP endpoint to transfer a file. This works very nicely as expected. However if I ftp a large file this can take some time, ...
  • Dec 12, 2023 ... "); //This can take some time - so we use a progress dialog. chosenMap = await QueuedTask.Run(() => { return Module1.MapPaneChooserWindowVM ...
  • May 24, 2022 ... This can take some time, depending upon the network speed and connectivity between your indexers and CM, but should take care of all the issues.

Alternatives:

  • This might take some time
  • This could take some time
  • This is likely to take some time
  • This is expected to take some time
  • This will probably take some time

Related Comparisons

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9TextRanch on TrustPilot).

Why choose TextRanch?

Lowest prices
Up to 50% lower than other online editing sites.

Fastest Times
Our team of editors is working for you 24/7.

Qualified Editors
Native English experts for UK or US English.

Top Customer Service
We are here to help. Satisfaction guaranteed!

×

⚡️ Black Friday 2024 ⚡️

Stock up on credits for the entire year!

Grab this offer now!