Spanish word of the week: probable

probable ADJECTIVE likely

Es muy probable. It’s very likely.

Don’t forget that if you want to express in Spanish how likely something is to happen, you will have to use a verb in the subjunctive form, so es probable que has to be followed by a verb in the subjunctive. It’s often translated using probably.

Es probable que llegue tarde. He’ll probably arrive late.

Similarly, poco probable, meaning unlikely, is also followed by a verb in the subjunctive.

Es poco probable que venga. He’s unlikely to come.

Another common way of saying ‘probably’ is to use lo más probable es que… followed the subjunctive (word for word, the most likely thing is that…)

Lo más probable es que se haya olvidado. She probably forgot.