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Nanako
How I can use potentially
Doing something that potentially will fail
Doing something that it might be failed
Can I say the second one? Or first one is better??
2023년 4월 26일 오후 4:48
답변 · 5
3
Both of your statements convey a similar meaning, but the first one "Doing something that potentially will fail" is more commonly used and considered more grammatically correct.
However, you can also rephrase your second statement to make it sound more natural, such as "Doing something that has the potential to fail." This phrasing still conveys the same meaning as your original statements, but it sounds more natural and is often used in everyday conversation.
2023년 4월 26일
2
I respectfully disagree with Richard. I think we can write that something indeed "potentially will fail". It's an uncertain statement about the future. The rules of our language are complex and, frankly, they change depending on who you ask, so I tend to just judge by my ear. I suggest that both "potentially could fail" and "potentially will fail" are possible and that they have basically the same meaning, and a native speaker might say either one. They don't connote exactly the same thing. Using "could" is more hesitant. It suggests the speaker doesn't want to make any strong statements either way. "Potentially will fail" is a more confident statement about the likelihood of failure. It's not necessarily a statement of higher probability of failure. The difference is not about the probability of failure; it's the confidence of the speaker in his own statement.
2023년 4월 26일
1
“potentially will fail” = “might fail”
2023년 4월 27일
Ahmadi is correct, I would like to add that the second phrase could easily be reworded to "...doing something that might fail."
2023년 4월 26일
아직도 답을 찾지 못하셨나요?
질문을 남겨보세요. 원어민이 도움을 줄 수 있을 거예요!
Nanako
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