Could it rain this afternoon?

Question

Could it rain this afternoon?Could there be a strike next week?Could war break out any day?It couldn't rain this afternoon.There couldn't be a strike next week.The war couldn't break out any day.May I ask if the above sentences are correct?  Thank you very much!

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

Fine, IMO

Philip · Answer

Viceidol
Could it rain this afternoon?
Could there be a strike next week?
Could war break out any day?
It couldn't rain this afternoon.
There couldn't be a strike next week.
The war couldn't break out any day.
May I ask if the above sentences are correct? Thank you very much!

Yes, they are correct.

NOTE: The first three are simply asking about the possibility. The rest offer an opinion about the possibility. This is an unusual case of where the negative isn't simply the opposite of the affirmative.

Viceidol · Answer

May I ask another questions?

What if I relplace all the "could" in those sentence with "can", like:

Can it rain this afternoon?

Can there be a strike next week?

Can war break out any day?

It can't rain this afternoon.

There can't be a strike next week.

The war can't break out any day.

Then are they still correct? Thanks again!

Philip · Answer

ViceidolMay I ask another questions?

What if I relplace all the "could" in those sentence with "can", like:
Can it rain this afternoon?
Can there be a strike next week?
Can war break out any day?
It can't rain this afternoon.
There can't be a strike next week.
The war can't break out any day.
Then are they still correct? Thanks again!

They would still be correct, with much the same meanings as mentioned above.

Hoa Thai · Answer

Hi Viceidol.

'Could' is the better choice. 'Can' does not sound right for future predictions. It's just me. Somebody might disagree.

CalifJim · Answer

Could it rain this afternoon?

Could there be a strike next week?

Could war break out any day?

It couldn't rain this afternoon.

There couldn't be a strike next week.

The war couldn't break out any day.

I find all of them anomalous in some subtle way. A could question (or a couldn't statement) about the future seems strange to my ear. (I take this afternoon as a future here.)

You can make the could questions slightly more idiomatic by substituting might.

Might it rain ...? Might there be ... ? Might war ...?

Even more idiomatic are Do you [think / suppose] it [will / might / could] rain ...? and so on.

As for the couldn't statements, my ear tells me that the negation should be pulled into an introductory clause. It's hard even to know what those statements are attempting to convey, but perhaps something like the following:

I can't [believe / imagine] that it will rain this afternoon.
I can't [believe / imagine] that there will be a strike next week.
I can't [believe / imagine] that the war will break out any day.

Alternately:

I [refuse / find it impossible] to believe that it [could / will] rain this afternoon.
And so on.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

Can it rain this afternoon?

Can there be a strike next week?

Can war break out any day?

It can't rain this afternoon.

There can't be a strike next week.

The war can't break out any day.

I find the can questions even more anomalous than the first group with could. I prefer a rephrasing with Is it possible that.

Is it possible that it will rain this afternoon?
...

The can't statements have a meaning for me, but not the one that I think you're expecting. I think the meaning you're trying for is better expressed as shown below, but even here, I don't know why anyone would say such things (from the viewpoint of logic):

It is impossible for it to rain this afternoon.
It is impossible for there to be a strike next week.
...

The meaning I feel in the can't statements can be paraphrased as follows.

It mustn't rain this afternoon. If it rained this afternoon, it would [spoil / ruin] my plans.
There mustn't be a strike next week. If there were a strike next week, it would [spoil / ruin] my plans.
...

Perhaps another paraphrase is:

[It's / I find it] [impossible/inconceivable] that it should rain this afternoon.
[It's / I find it] [impossible/inconceivable] that there should be a strike next week.
[It's / I find it] [impossible/inconceivable] that the war should break out any day.

CJ

Viceidol · Answer

Thank you, Jim ! Your explanation is even better and more detailed than my grammar books. And thank those who answered my questions as well.

CalifJim · Answer

Could it rain this afternoon?

Could it rain this afternoon?

Could there be a strike next week?

Could war break out any day?

It couldn't rain this afternoon.

There couldn't be a strike next week.

The war couldn't break out any day.

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Could it rain this afternoon?

Could there be a strike next week?

Could war break out any day?

It couldn't rain this afternoon.

There couldn't be a strike next week.

The war

Can it rain this afternoon?

Can there be a strike next week?

Can war break out any day?

It can't rain this afterno

Can it rain this afternoon?

Can there be a strike next week?

Can war break out any day?

It ca

Could it rain this afternoon?

Could there be a strike next week?

Could war break out any day?

It couldn't rain this afternoon.

There couldn't be a strike next week.

The war couldn't

Can it rain this afternoon?

Can there be a strike next week?

Can war break out any day?

It can't rain this afternoon.

There can't be a strike next week.

The war

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