• idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        There’s not a good modal verb in English to describe a likely consequence. “Will/would” are definite, ”can/could” are maybes, and “may/might” are (less likely) maybes. “Ought” and “should” signify moral(ish) perspectives and would probably be editorializing. I might use “dürfte” in German, but I’m not sure that would be right.

        They probably shouldn’t have tried to rephrase it with a modal verb at all, or maybe “will likely.”

          • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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            7 hours ago

            “May well” absolutely indicates the right level of certainty, but feels a little informal to me. I don’t know if that’s universal, but particles in English almost always strike me as more for the ear than for the eye. Though given that this is from a speech, I’m just overthinking it, lol