will and may

Question

She will be right.  She may be right.  Do both sentences suggest probability?

BruceInUK · Accepted Answer

She will be right.
She may be right.
Do both sentences suggest probability?

No - the second sentence (she may be right) is the correct form to express possibility (rather than probability).

In the example you've given, the first sentence does not really have a meaning. However, in other examples, using 'will' can express an insistence on something happening. For example, consider in these two sentences:

She will obey you. (i.e. I shall insist that she obeys you, or she will be in trouble!)
She may obey you. (i.e. It is possible that she will obey you, but I can't be sure.)

Actually, to be strict about this, the words 'can', 'may' and 'might' should be used to express ability, permission and possibility. So consider these examples:

She can walk to the town. (She is able to walk to the town.)
She may walk to the town. (She is permitted to walk to town.)
She might walk to the town. (It is possible that she will walk to the town.)

Hope this helps.

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

The phone is ringing. It will be Jake.
For me the sentence suggests it is highly probable that it is Jake who is calling.

Milky · Answer

You are right, it can be used in that way.

Watchayakan · Answer

Isn't that omniscient knowledge?  Unless it is first person, it should be "It will most likely be Jake," or soem other rendition of 'most likely.'

CalifJim · Answer

Do both sentences suggest probability?

Yes, in the right context. However, they don't suggest probability in the same way. Not to me, anyway.

She may be right

suggests that it is possible that she is right and it is possible that she is not right. It's saying that a possibility exists with regard to the rightness.

She will be right

Or, in my preferred version,

She'll be right

suggests that it is certain that she will be found to be right, in the opinion of the speaker. It reveals that the degree of belief held by the speaker is quite high (in comparison to the previous version with may). It's saying that a near certainty exists with regard to the speaker's belief about the rightness.

In short, the difference is between possibility and near certainty, both of which can be said to "suggest probability". (The use of will to indicate probability in this way is much less frequent than the use of will to indicate the future. In fact, the will of probability is nearly absent from everyday American English.)

CJ

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