5.27 Nuance — modal adverbs and hedging — Epoché
What you will be able to do Use sixty-five adverbs and phrases that say how sure, how much and how strongly: the vocabulary of nuance that separates C1 French from B2. Avoid the classic trap of sans doute , which means probably , and the false friends effectivement and sensiblement . Recognise the journalistic conditional, which reports a claim without vouching for it. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the French aloud; all of them come back below. French English Je suis certaine que vous en auriez fait de même pour moi. [1] I'm sure you would've done the same for me. Elle parle japonais dans une certaine mesure. [2] She speaks Japanese to some extent. Vous avez sûrement raison. [3] Surely you're right. Cela pourrait être dangereux. [4] It might be dangerous. Cela semble carrément impossible. [5] It seems downright impossible. C'était trop dangereux pour lui. [6] It was too dangerous for him. Elle paiera au plus cinquante dollars. [7] She will pay 50 dollars at most. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour vous. [8] I sincerely feel sorry for you. Prerequisites : 5.26 — this lesson follows 5.26 Vocabulary . Probablement , quand même , certes and éventuellement are already taught, in 4.15 Grammar , 5.14 Vocabulary , 5.21 Vocabulary and 2.6 Cognates ; the conditional is in 4.15 Grammar . An argument at C1 level is judged as much by its caution as by its claims. A French essay that says c'est vrai where it should say c'est vrai dans une certaine mesure reads as naive, and a French article that reports a rumour as a fact is irresponsible. French has a rich set of words for placing a statement between certainty and doubt, and some of them do not mean what an English speaker expects. Word list Sixty-five words and phrases in seven groups: how certain, how possible, how much, how strongly, telling the truth, qualifying, and keeping a distance. How certain Word Meaning Notes sans doute fr probably Gender / part of speech phrase How English differs A false friend: it means probably ; without doubt is sans aucun doute . Sans doute pas. [9] Probably not. certainement fr certainly; very probably Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Often weaker than English certainly . Il pleuvra certainement. [10] It'll rain for sure. sûrement fr surely, most likely Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Like surely , it often admits a doubt. C'est sûrement possible. [11] That's certainly possible. forcément fr necessarily, inevitably Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs pas forcément , not necessarily . Ce sera forcément un problème. [12] That's bound to be a problem. incontestablement fr unquestionably Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Formal. Cette voiture est incontestablement en très mauvais état. [13] That car is no doubt in an awful condition. indéniablement fr undeniably Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Formal. C'est indéniablement la meilleure méthode. [14] It's undeniably the best method. certain fr certain, sure Gender / part of speech adjective How English differs After the noun or être ; before the noun it means some : un certain temps . C'est certain. [15] It's certain. probable fr likely, probable Gender / part of speech adjective How English differs Il est probable que takes the indicative. C'est probable. [16] That's likely. peu probable fr unlikely Gender / part of speech phrase How English differs peu makes the adjective negative. C'est peu probable. [17] This is unlikely. douteux fr doubtful; dubious Gender / part of speech adjective How English differs Feminine douteuse . C'est douteux. [18] That's doubtful. incertain fr uncertain, unsure Gender / part of speech adjective How English differs As in English. Le futur est incertain. [19] The future is uncertain. How possible Word Meaning Notes peut-être fr perhaps, maybe Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs At the start of a sentence, formal French inverts: peut-être viendra-t-il . Peut-être pas. [20] Perhaps not. vraisemblablement fr in all likelihood Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs From vraisemblable , taught in 5.23. Très vraisemblablement. [21] Very likely. potentiellement fr potentially Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs As in English. Potentiellement, cela pourrait se reproduire. [22] Potentially, that could happen again. il se peut que fr it may be that Gender / part of speech phrase How English differs Takes the subjunctive. Il se peut qu'il pleuve. [23] It might rain. il semble que fr it seems that Gender / part of speech phrase How English differs Usually with the subjunctive. Il semble que je sois perdu. [24] I seem to be lost. il est probable que fr it is likely that Gender / part of speech phrase How English differs Takes the indicative. Il est probable qu'il viendra. [25] He is likely to come. paraître fr to seem, to appear Gender / part of speech verb How English differs il paraît que , apparently, they say that . Ça paraît fou. [26] That sounds crazy. supposer fr to suppose, to assume Gender / part of speech verb How English differs à supposer que takes the subjunctive. Nous devons supposer le pire. [27] We must assume the worst. soupçonner fr to suspect Gender / part of speech verb How English differs soupçonner quelqu'un de . Il me soupçonne de mentir. [28] He suspects me of telling a lie. How much Word Meaning Notes quasiment fr almost, practically Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Common in speech. Je suis quasiment prêt. [29] I'm nearly ready. pratiquement fr practically, virtually Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Mostly almost , rarely in practice . C'est pratiquement impossible. [30] It's nearly impossible. presque fr almost, nearly Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs The final e is never elided except in presqu'île . Presque toujours. [31] Almost always. environ fr about, approximately Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Be