English term
31 years experience with thanks.
Native in: Japanese (Variant: Standard-Japan) 
Works in: Japanese to English, English to Japanese
may
Discussion and Conclusion: The results suggested that continuous stimulation of the soles of the feet during the day using noninvasive microcones may improve sleep quality. Specifically, the approach **seems to be able to** improve the ability to initiate and maintain sleep, thereby increasing sleep duration and reducing sleepiness on rising.
I thibk "may" is better than "seems to be able to," but I am not confident.
Is "may" better?
| 4 +6 | may |
Tony M
|
| 3 +2 | "may" or "seems to improve" |
JohnMcDove
|
| 4 | could |
Ajin Im
|
| 4 | May |
Eleni panagiotopoulou
|
Nov 17, 2018 09:49: Jennifer White changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): Tony M, GILLES MEUNIER, Jennifer White
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Responses
may
In this instance, given the level of doubt already implied by 'results suggested that...', no additional doubt is really needed by using 'seems to...' so 'may' is perfectly OK here. In addition, in the fairly formal register of this document, 'seems to' is a little out of place, being of a more familiar, everyday register; in a document like this, if one wanted to express the same idea, one would probably write 'appears to...', which is much closer in register.
'May' also expresses another idea, not present in 'appears to' — it allows of the possibility that is may work for some people, but not others; 'appears to', on the other hand, does not carry this same implication: one might say, for example 'appears in some cases to...', opening the possibility that in some cases it may not. These nuances are important in scientific texts of this kind.
"may" or "seems to improve"
My two cents.
| agree |
writeaway
: certainly not wrong (referring to 'may' only)
1 day 4 hrs
|
| agree |
GILLES MEUNIER
: definitely....
3 days 2 hrs
|
could
For me, considering the nature of the document neither 'may' nor 'seems to' feels quite right.
Greece
Professional EN>GR Translator
Native in: Greek 
Works in: English to Greek, Greek to English, Greek, and 1 more.
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