There are two words in English that are used in very similar circumstances: perhaps or probably. There are many other pairs that I talk about on my blog. Like those other pairs, they deserve special attention. There are some other simple explanations on the internet, but I want to make it clearer.
Usually, they are defined by their percentages
| perhaps | 0-50% |
| probably | 50-100% |
These explanations can give an instant answer for some learners. For others, this is still confusing. What does a percentage mean?
Perhaps is an invitation to correct
Because it is only a small percent, you are not confident with this statement and invite someone to explain more
Perhaps it would be easier to avoid the traffic by walking
= I am not sure, but this is a suggestion that you could walk instead of driving through traffic.
Perhaps you could try sending an email to your teacher asking for more time for your homework.
= a polite and gentle way to say “you should send an email to your teacher…”
Probably is giving info as accurate as you can, admitting the chance of failure
You are not suggesting you might be right or someone should do something. You are giving information you are not sure about, so it’s a way to add “but it is possible that I am wrong,” to your sentence.
If your computer is making such a strange noise, it probably is broken.
= I think it is broken, but there is a chance that it can be fixed.
Probably it will take 7 days for my package to arrive.
= I think my package will arrive in 7 days, but 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 days could be possible, too.
perhaps or probably – summary:
- perhaps: a low percent chance of being true; an unlikely suggestion
- probably: a high percent change of being true; confident but accepting you can be wrong
Hopefully this explains all the percentages you see online. A lot of explanations want to simplify something, but not everyone thinks with math. This is another way to think of the issue. In reality, this is how those percentages express themselves in a real life situation.
If you want to see more language explanations, I have more on my blog.
If you want to see language learning-related content, I have a YouTube channel where you can watch that.
Keep on learning. If you study everyday, you probably will improve.
