possibility
part of speech
noun (a possibility, possibilities)
meaning for a pupil
1) Something that might happen or might be true. tree →
2) The chance that something can happen: «There is a possibility of rain.» tree →
3) A choice or option you could take. tree →
4) possibilities (plural) The good things that something could become: «The old shed has possibilities.» tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths, pupils list all the possibilities (outcomes) of rolling a dice or tossing a coin to find probability. In everyday talk and safety it means something to plan for: «the possibility of a fire». Phrases: «a strong possibility», «rule out the possibility», «within the realms of possibility», «endless possibilities».
examples
- There is a possibility of snow tomorrow. tree →
- We listed every possibility when we rolled two dice. tree →
- Is there any possibility we can stay up late? tree →
- The detective did not rule out the possibility of a second thief. tree →
- Moving to Canada is a real possibility for our family. tree →
- A blank page is full of possibilities. tree →
- Tossing a coin has two possibilities: heads or tails. tree →
- Always think about the possibility of a slippery floor. tree →
note
Countable; plural «possibilities» (y becomes ies). Adjective «possible», adverb «possibly». In maths problems, «how many possibilities» asks you to count all the outcomes; if each is equally likely, probability = favourable possibilities divided by all possibilities.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «possibility» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.