possibly

«possibly» in Mova's school dictionary: Perhaps; maybe — used when something could be true or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adverb (possibly)

meaning for a pupil

1) Perhaps; maybe — used when something could be true or could happen but you are not sure. tree →

2) (with can/could) In any way possible: «I'll come as soon as I possibly can». tree →

3) (in polite requests) «Could you possibly help me?» tree →

4) (with can't) Used to say something is impossible: «I can't possibly eat all that». tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths and science: «possibly» shows uncertainty — a possible event may or may not happen. In stories: «It was possibly the best day ever» shows strong feeling with a little doubt. In polite talk: «Could you possibly…?» makes a request very polite. Similar: maybe, perhaps, probably (stronger).

examples

• It will possibly rain later. tree →
• Could you possibly open the window? tree →
• That was possibly the best cake I've ever eaten. tree →
• I can't possibly finish all this homework tonight! tree →
• "Will you come?" "Possibly." tree →
• We'll get there as fast as we possibly can. tree →
• What more can you possibly want?" tree →

note

Adverb from «possible» — drop e, add -ly: possibly (not «possiblely»). «Possibly» is less sure than «probably»: probably = likely, possibly = it could happen.

In the corpora

• In some caves dwarf crocodiles have turned orange, possibly from living among bat droppings.
• In about 5 billion years the Sun will become a red giant, swallowing Mercury and Venus and possibly the Earth.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «possibly» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.