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Park sang joon Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Can I use "could" in place of "might" to express probability

- She have suffered from an incurable disease and his son is going to get married to his girlfriend before long, and her acquaintances think.
1. She might live (long enough) to see her son's marriage.
2. = She could live to see her son's marriage.

- He is my dormitory roommate and I kind of heard a girl's voice from our room when I reached the door of our room, and I think.
3. He might be in our room with his girlfriend.
4. = He could be in our room with his girlfriend.

I'd like to know whether or not "could" expresses the probability of the present of future situation like "would" or "might."
  

Top answer

1 and 2 are okay and have the same meaning. However, in this context 1 is preferable. 2, in this context, would be better said as: She could live long enough to see her son's marriage.

— Anonymous

  • 1 and 2 are okay and have the same meaning.
  • However, in this context 1 is preferable.
  • 2, in this context, would be better said as: She could live long enough to see her son's marriage.
  • And 3 and 4 are okay and have the same meaning.
  • However, there can be the slightest nuance between 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.
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9 Answers
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1 and 2 are okay and have the same meaning. However, in this context 1 is preferable. 2, in this context, would be better said as: She could live long enough to see her son's marriage. And 3 and 4 are okay and have the same meaning.

However, there can be the slightest nuance between 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. "Could" in these situations can imply a slightly greater probability than "might
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Thank you, No Name One, for your elaborate and detailed answer. Emotion: smile
How about the followings?
: - She have suffered from an inc
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The original sentence has problems:

- She have suffered from an incurable disease and his son is going to get married to his girlfriend before long, and her acquaintances think.

1. The use of pr
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Thank you, AlpheccaStars, for your elaborate proofreading and answer.
I'm so sorry; I have made a mountain of mistakes.

1. The use of present perfect gives the idea that her disease is in remission.
I didn't know, I would rather have indicated she had illness until now.

4. Use "soon." It is more natural.
5. A full stop means the end of a sen
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The sentence, "She couldn't live to see her son's marriage.", although the meaning is understandable (this means she died before the wedding), is typically not used in (American) English. The reason is that it is awkward-sounding, seeing as the pattern is similar to another set construction: "She couldn't wait to see her son married." (this means she was very eager to attend the wedding).
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Thank you, No Name One, for your continuing support and detailed answer.Emotion: smile

Then, Should I take it that "could" can take place
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"Could" and "might" can be synonymous, but "could not" and "might not" have different meanings, for example:

"I might join you." means the same thing as "I could join you." They mean: there is the possibility that I will join you.

However:

"I might not join you." means there is the possibility that I will not join you.

While, "I could not join you." means I wa
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Thank you, No Name One, for your clear explanation. Emotion: smile
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AnonymousWhile, "I could not join you." means I was not able to join you (at some time in the past)
If it is qualified by an "if" clause, you can use "could not" for future. But it means impossibility:

Even if I wanted to, I couldn't join you. I'll be in Albania.
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