possible
part of speech
adjective (possible)
meaning for a pupil
1) Possible means it can happen or can be done. tree →
2) «As soon as possible» means as soon as you can. tree →
3) «The best possible» means the best there can be. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: In the Sefer Yetzirah the 22 letters can be combined in every possible way, forming the "231 gates". The tradition reads this as the way the world was formed. In the primary lessons: In school maths: in chance and counting problems — things that can happen; «how many are possible», «as many as possible», «the largest possible number». In science: making possible ideas (predictions) and testing them. In everyday life: «Is it possible to...?», «if possible». Phrases: «as soon as possible», «as much as possible», «if possible», «impossible» (the opposite).
examples
- Drawing the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet around the edge of a circle, it takes 231 lines, here called שְׁעָרִים sheʽarim ‘gates’, to connect every possible combination of 2 letters. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
- By the science of the Sepher Jezirah the human spirit is fixed to truth, and in reason, and is able to take account of the possible development of intelligence by the evolutions of numbers. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- It’s possible that these four are meant to signify the four stomachs of ruminants, the functions of which were not wholly understood in the past and may have been believed to be present in humans. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
- How many different pairs are possible? tree →
- Make the largest possible number with 3, 5 and 1. tree →
- Is it possible to share 7 sweets equally between 2? tree →
- Pack as many boxes as possible. tree →
- Is it possible to visit the Moon? tree →
- Please reply as soon as possible. tree →
- With practice, anything is possible. tree →
- It is possible that it will snow tonight. tree →
- "Is it possible to catch them?" tree →
note
Opposite: «impossible». «Possibly» means maybe. Maths: asks to count all ways or find a best value. Trap: «as many as possible» usually means drop the remainder (whole boxes only).
In the corpora
- Banks use AI to spot unusual spending and block possible fraud; sometimes a real payment is blocked by mistake.
- «it is quite against animal-etiquette to dwell on possible trouble ahead» — etiquette = the rules of polite behaviour.
- When a text does not give a reason, a good reader can say what is possible but does not claim it is certain.
- Children under about 12 or 13 sit in the back seat where possible, because front airbags open with great force.
- A late library book is returned as soon as possible, because some libraries charge fines.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «possible» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.