• idiomaddict@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      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
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          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