There are many ways of saying that something will probably or possibly happen.
Probable
bound to = certain: "They are bound to succeed!"
sure to = certain: "He is sure to win the championship."
likely to = probable: "We are likely to win the contract."
definite = sure: "He's a definite frontrunner for the job!"
probable: "It's probable that we will be on holiday around then."
likely: "An election is likely next year."
will definitely happen: "There will definitely be a storm later."
will probably happen: "They will probably take on more staff."
Possible
may: "We may be able to help you."
might: "There might be a holiday next month – I'm not sure."
could: "There could be a bug in the system."
… is possible: "Do you think he will resign?" "Yes, that's possible."
… is unlikely: "It's unlikely that she will move."
will possibly: "She'll possibly tell us tomorrow."
probably won't: "They probably won't hear until next week."
definitely won't: "I definitely won't go to the party."
… is highly unlikely: "It's highly unlikely that the company will expand."
Note: Be careful of the word order.
"Definitely" and "probably" come after "will" (in positive sentences) and before "won't" in negative sentences.
Variations
You can add words to alter the strength of probability:
highly likely / unlikely (= very likely / unlikely)
quite likely / probable / possible (= more likely, probable or possible)
could possibly / probably
most definitely won't (= even more unlikely)
12 comments on “Talking about probability in English”
The site is excellent however can anyone help me to write combine sentences to prolong my sentence. I wish to write sentence with suitable words seems good for reading and understand easily.
Have a look at the pages on linking words (in the grammar section).
The titles Probable and Possible make me no sense. Does might in the sentence "There might be a holiday next month – I'm not sure." imply a meaning different from a Probable event?
Thanks for consideration.
Mohammad ยป Probable is more likely (more sure to happen) than possible.
Thanks Clare. I got it now.
Hoping your success.
First of all i would like to thank you for this site, n now what my doubt is about the word storm in the sentence above i.e., "There will definitely be a storm later"
A storm (or thunder storm) is when there's lots of rain and strong wind, thunder (loud noise in the sky) and bolts of lightning (when there is electrical light in the sky).
Can anyone help me order these expressions? I'm not sure how to use them according to the degree of certainty.
will certainly not
will probably not
will probably
may well
may
will certainly
Thanks!
From uncertain through to certain, your list is correctly ordered, although I think "may well" is more certain than "may".
Hi Clare,
The above article was very helpful,however i have a question.I heard someone say" Possibly,yes"…… When the question was "Do you work out in the gym for an hour daliy?"…Is that the correct answer?
Yes / No / Sometimes / Not often…
I never knew the difference between "may" and "might" when speaking about probability. Could you clear that out for me Clare, please? Thank you
For me they mean much the same thing!
