Possible and probable

Possibility:

·       Possible – means-it has the potential or the power. It refers to what can be done, what can occur or what can be true.

E.g.,

Will it be possible for you to come and see me tomorrow? ( Can you come and see me tomorrow?)

·       Probable refers to what is likely to be done, to occur, or to be true.

*When we say something is probable, we are more confident about its happening, than when we say something is possible.

·       We also use could, might and may to show that something is possible in the future, but not certain.

E.g.,

We may go to a movie tomorrow.

They might buy that house.

If we don’t hurry, we could miss the train.

Probability:

·       We use must / should  to show that we are sure that something is true and we have reasons for our belief:

E.g.,

It must be a good movie. The reviews are good.

He should know. He was there when the accident occurred.

·       We use must have/ should have  for the past:

E.g.,

She must have passed the examination. She looks quite happy.

It's nearly eleven o'clock. They should have arrived  by now.

May have, might have, must have

·       May have and might have are used when we wish to state that something has possibly happened now or sometime ago.

E.g.,

The bride groom’s party might have arrived by now. ( Perhaps they have arrived.)

They may have given the advance for the flat.( Perhaps they gave the advance, long back).

·       Must have is used to express a probability in the past.

E.g.,

Geetha must have taken the umbrella.

The thief must have escaped  through that window.

Now, go through the following sentences:

·       They could have easily solved the problem. (It was possible for them but they did not do so).

·       They will have finished writing the examination by now.

·       I thought you would have informed your parents about this.

·       You should have been more careful.( You were not and so you are in trouble now.)

·       Nilesh may have repaid the loans.( Perhaps he repaid them long back).

·       Meena is not at home now. She might have taken her child to the music class. ( Perhaps she has)

·       Don’t worry about your cell phone. Your mother must have kept it safe.(It is quite probable that she has)

*We will discuss the difference between ‘possible’ and ‘probable’ in the next post.

Could have, will have, would have, should have +past participle

·       Could have  is used when we want to indicate that there was a possibility for something to happen, but it did not happen.

E.g.,

I could have studied better. ( But I did not.)

You could have attended the wedding. ( But you did not.)

·       Will have is used when we are looking back from a point in time,  when something will have happened.

E.g.,

Suresh will have reached home by now.

The over-bridge work will have been completed by 2014.

·       Would have  is used as the past tense of  will have.

E.g.,

I knew that my sister would have finished cooking by 1 p.m.

I did not want to go to my brother’s house at this time. He would have gone to sleep.

·       Would have  is also used for past conditionals.

E.g.,

If you had studied better, you would have scored higher marks.( You did not study; you did not get the marks).

If she had started earlier, she would not have missed the train. ( She started late and missed the train.)

Note:

Some people wrongly use would have instead of had.

If you would have asked me, I would have given you the money.

It should be…..

If you had asked me, I would have given you the money.

·       Should is used to indicate that doing something is a good idea.

E.g.,

You should buy this book. It is very useful.

Imagine that you did not buy the book. When you went to the shop the next day to buy it, it had been sold out. What do you say, then?

I should have bought the book yesterday.

More examples:

You should have listened to my advice.

We should have booked the tickets earlier.

( *Some more will follow. I don’t want to give too much in one go.)

Hope /expect/ think

I find there is some confusion in the use of the above three words.

People especially use hope in the place of think.

When we use hope, there is a wish that it should be so.

E.g.,

We hope to reach there before 5 p.m.

( We wish to reach there before 5. p.m. Hopefully, it will happen).

But, think does not have any such connotation.

E.g.,

I think we will reach there before 5. p.m.

( Given the present circumstances, we should be there by 5. p.m. What we wish does not matter. It is just a statement.)

Also, note that there is a slight difference in the usage of expect and think.

Expect is more reliable. You expect certain things because you have either factual proof or previous experience.

E.g.,

We are driving quite fast. The road is very good. There is no traffic. We expect to be there by 5 p.m.

Now go through the three sentences below.

I hope you will do well in the examination. ( I wish it so).

I think you will do well in the examination. ( I am almost sure).

I expect you to do well in the examination. ( I know you. You are a studious person. You have to do well.)

*I hope I have made it clear.