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Grant/Bring

Honey7

New Member
French - France
Hello,
I'd like to know which one of these expression is correct, please.
Should I say "may life grant me [...]" or "may life bring me [...]" ?
Welcome to the forum, Honey7.

Please give us the complete sentence in which you plan to use the phrase, and tell us the situation in which you would use it. Either "grant" or "bring" may be possible, but we can't say for sure without more information.
Thank you !

The sentence is "May life grant/bring me serenity and wisdom".
Either one is grammatically correct. Again, without more information, we can't advise you as to which is more appropriate to the situation you have in mind.
It would be very odd to say, "May life bring me serenity...." Second person works, though.

Ok, so "Grant" is better or does it sound weird too?
I would echo Florentia's request for more information. We don't know your context. Who would be saying this, and why?
This sentiment would not normally be expressed like this in English, I'd say, although everybody might disagree. I don't think of life bringing/granting me these virtues, but of course that's my own idea, maybe not yours. I say normally because the way it's put, with the 'May ... ', sounds like a priest talking. We seldom if ever talk to ourselves this way, unless it's a prayer to a god or a very serious conversation.

I wonder if this is a translation from French (but please don't start writing French here). That would account for the strangeness of the English. I can just hear it in French and it sounds much less odd. Of course, as has already been said, it is essential to know the context. Context means the surrounding circumstances in which the language is to be used.
This sentiment would not normally be expressed like this in English, I'd say, although everybody might disagree. I don't think of life bringing/granting me these virtues, but of course that's my own idea, maybe not yours. I say normally because the way it's put, with the 'May ... ', sounds like a priest talking. We seldom if ever talk to ourselves this way, unless it's a prayer to a god or a very serious conversation.

I wonder if this is a translation from French (but please don't start writing French here). That would account for the strangeness of the English. I can just hear it in French and it sounds much less odd. Of course, as has already been said, it is essential to know the context. Context means the surrounding circumstances in which the language is to be used.

Thank you for your answer. Yes it's a translation from French. It's for a tattoo. What would we say in english ?

It's inspired from a text "god, Grant me the serenity to accept the thing I cannot change..." But I don't like "god Grant me" and I want to replace this expression. I thought about saying "may I have the serenity etc" but I found it weird.
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You can evade the issue; "In life, may I be granted the serenity to...."

"May life bring me..." is natural sounding but somehow evades the point; sounds passive.

How about this: "May I learn, in life, the serenity to accept..."

of "In life, let me learn the serenity to...."
Personally, I have no objection to either "may life grant me [...]" or "may life bring me [...]": It is the sort of thing seen as earnest hopes embroidered on a sampler, and is not used conversationally.
It's for a tattoo.
Off-topic, I know, but Honey7, please don't get (or give) a tattoo based on recommendations and translations obtained from a forum.
Why say that?
I certainly would not get other language tattoos unless I was very sure they were correct.
Exactly my point. And while we all try to do our best to ensure correctness, none of us fully understands the context, and misunderstandings and mistakes (permanent ones in the case of a tattoo) can easily be made and are perhaps inevitable.
You could simply use the nouns, I forget what they are exactly, Courage, Strength, Wisdom, and you could simply say 'Grant me .... ', if you really must have a verb, leaving it vague. It's not literature after all - it's design.
Life itself does not bring us these virtues. We need them to cope with life.

You have explained the context well enough it seems to me, but please be careful. There are lots of jobs which will not allow any visible tattoos. It costs thousands to get them removed. Sorry to be 'mumsy'.👁 Roll Eyes :rolleyes:
Off-topic, I know, but Honey7, please don't get (or give) a tattoo based on recommendations and translations obtained from a forum.

I Just asked if an expression sounds natural... I trust engligh-speaking people to tell me if it does. I don't what sounds weird or not in a foreign language
You could simply use the nouns, I forget what they are exactly, Courage, Strength, Wisdom, and you could simply say 'Grant me .... ', if you really must have a verb, leaving it vague. It's not literature after all - it's design.
Life itself does not bring us these virtues. We need them to cope with life.

You have explained the context well enough it seems to me, but please be careful. There are lots of jobs which will not allow any visible tattoos. It costs thousands to get them removed. Sorry to be 'mumsy'.👁 Roll Eyes :rolleyes:

Don't worry, the tattoo will be on my back. I don't want visible tattoo 👁 Wink ;)


Somebody proposed "May I learn", i like it.
First I wanted only the noun, but wouldn't it be weird "the serenity to accept the things I cannot change etc" ?
You can evade the issue; "In life, may I be granted the serenity to...."

"May life bring me..." is natural sounding but somehow evades the point; sounds passive.

How about this: "May I learn, in life, the serenity to accept..."

of "In life, let me learn the serenity to...."

Thanks ! I prefer "May I learn"
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