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Possibly / Perhaps / Probably / Maybe / I guess
Hi, Friends. Sorry for this beginner question. I am getting confused with how to use these terms.Such as ; Possibly / Perhaps / Probably / Maybe / I guess.
They are really synonymous terms for me.
1.What's kind of the percentage of these terms?
2.How would you use these terms as the situation demands?
(Formal?Casual?Spoken/Written word?etc...)
I hope you could understand what I mean...Thanks in advance for your help(P.S.//Someone said to me Maybe means 50/50 or sounds not good...)
10 sep. 2013 02:08
Antwoorden · 6
5
Possibly - It's possible that something will happen (0% < probability <=100%)
Probably/Likely - It's probable that something will happen (50% < Probability <= 100%)
Perhaps/Maybe - These are related to certainty more than probability. They just mean that it is uncertain if something will happen or not. 'Maybe' is more colloquial.
If someone asks you a yes-no question, responding with "I guess" means "Maybe, but I don't really care either way." "I guess so" means "I think so, but I'm not certain". Note that these can only be responses to questions, and are NOT adverbs like the others. You should also remember that they're very colloquial.
10 september 2013
3
I probably use those words at least once a day, possibly more. Maybe I shouldn't use them so often, but I guess you understand now perhaps?
10 september 2013
1
Everything said above is true.
I'd also note that the impression given by these words depends a lot on context - the topic being discussed, other qualifiers being used, even the tone of voice (if it is spoken English). "Pooooooooossibly...?" has a different meaning from "Yes, possibly so!" for example.
So (as with a lot of these kinds of expressions) the exact meaning can be a bit "case by case". Just to make it extra hard for language learners!
10 september 2013
Heb je je antwoorden nog steeds niet gevonden?
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