I heard it many times but I haven't really pondered on that. We can hear these following sentences in our daily lives:
- May God bless you.
- May God be pleased with you.
- May God accept your prayers.
But why do we use "May" at the beginning of the sentence? Apparently, it doesn't make the sentence a question but more polite and respectful towards the God maybe? I cannot tell I heard this structure in any other sentence but religious ones. Which grammar rule does it belong to? And how do we use it in different forms?
Best Answer
See meaning 4 of may at dictionary.com
It follows the same grammatical pattern as let (and is almost a synonym).
The usage of may in this sense is not restricted to prayers, although one could say that it's formal, if not pompous, in modern usage.