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Chinese Grammar:“May, Maybe” – how to express possibility

Here, we will give a simple introduction on how you describe a possible situation and/or action.

1.可能 kei3 neng2

Adv. From previous classes, you may have already known the characters可 and 能. Both characters can mean ‘capability’ and ‘possibility’ individually. When put together, the word they make up of always means probability/chance/possibility.

In a sentence, 可能is put ahead of “verb (+ noun)” structure, just like “May” in English.

2.不可能

bu2kei3neng2 : “cannot, improbable to, unlikely to”.

Here, 不is put ahead of可能. It means the situation/action that follows is very unlikely happen. The negative sense is used toward to ‘可能’likelihood. This is different from the case when不is put behind可能.

3.她不可能有三十岁

ta1 bu2kei3neng2 you3 san1shi2sui4

She cannot be 30 years old.

4.我们不可能忘记这场比赛

wuo3men2 bu2kei3neng2 wang4ji4 zhe4channg3 bi3sai4

We can never forget this game.

5.可能不

kei3neng2 bu2: May not, perhaps not

Compared with不可能 in point 4, 不is put behind可能. It means the situation/action that follows is likely to happen in negative sens. The negative sense is used toward to the situation/action rather than ‘可能’likelihood.

6.她可能没有三十岁

ta1 kei3neng2 mei2you3 san1shi2sui4

She may not be 30 years old.

*Compared with point 3., it shows a less degree of certainty because, again, negative sense is used toward ‘有’ not ‘可能’.

7.我们可能不会忘记这场比赛

wuo3men2 kei3neng2 bu2hui4 wang4ji4 zhe4channg3 bi3sai4

We may not forget this game.

From:www.zapChinese.com

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