ADVERBS (hedging | emphasis) – English Grammar Profiler

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In the sentence “I know you’re probably busy”, the word “probably” is an adverb that modifies the assertion made.

Adverbs can be used to modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even an entire sentence. In this case, “probably” is used to hedge the assertion. Hedging is a way of making a statement less direct. By saying “you’re probably busy”, the speaker acknowledges the possibility that the assertion might not be entirely accurate, thus softening the impact of the statement and showing respect for the other person’s circumstances.

On the other hand, if an adverb were used for emphasis, it would strengthen the assertion. For example, in the sentence “It is definitely the right thing to do.”, the adverb “definitely” emphasizes the speaker’s agreement or certainty about the assertion.

Profiling Research

In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 24 in the category of MODALITY is defined as:

adverbs in mid position or after main verb ‘be’, to modify an assertion, either through hedging or emphasis

A google definition of ‘assertion’;

noun = a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.

Here are the most common phrases with ‘probably’  in the PlayPhrase.Me corpus in order from highest frequency, which we then had AI complete:

  1. You’re probably gonna have a great time.
  2. I’m probably gonna read a book.
  3. It‘s probably nothing to worry about.
  4. Well, it‘s probably the best option.
  5. I know you‘re probably busy.
  6. It’s probably better to start early.
  7. I should probably get going now.
  8. He’s probably got a plan.
  9. I think it’s probably going to rain.
  10. It’s probably best to ask her.
  11. It’s probably gonna be fun.
  12. You probably don’t remember me.
  13. Yeah, it’s probably a good idea.
  14. Yeah, you’re probably right about that.
  15. He’s probably gonna win the game.
  16. Probably a good idea to start now.
  17. We’re probably gonna be late.
  18. That’s probably true in some cases.
  19. I could probably get some rest.
  20. Probably gonna get some food.
  21. You probably think I’m joking.

An iWeb search using the adverbs found in the EGP examples:

_V probably|definitely *

1 IS PROBABLY THE 101355

On the other hand, the lack of these qualities is probably the cause of many problems we have with other people.

PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: Thai, Male, Level 5, Writing class

2 WILL PROBABLY BE 60726 3 WOULD PROBABLY BE 47283

4 IS DEFINITELY A 44545

5 WILL DEFINITELY BE 39584

At first, you may think that it was not a good idea to take this class, 

but soon you will definitely be sure that this is the class just for you.

Female, Level 4, Writing class

6 IS PROBABLY A 33147 7 IS PROBABLY NOT 25022 8 WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND 24647 9 WAS PROBABLY THE 24136 10 IS DEFINITELY NOT 21479 11 IS DEFINITELY THE 20901 12 IS PROBABLY ONE 18246 13 WILL PROBABLY HAVE 16487 14 ARE PROBABLY THE 16400 15 WOULD PROBABLY HAVE 14392 16 ‘S PROBABLY A 14323 17 IS DEFINITELY ONE 13664 18 ‘S PROBABLY THE 13571 19 ‘S DEFINITELY A 13459 20 ‘S PROBABLY NOT 13218 21 IS DEFINITELY WORTH 12332 22 WAS DEFINITELY A 12153 23 ‘LL PROBABLY BE 12083 24 WILL PROBABLY NOT 11410 25 WAS PROBABLY A 11171

26 WOULD DEFINITELY BE 10002

Here are AI generated sentences for the results 6-26:

  • It is probably a sunny day.
  • It is probably not going to rain today.
  • I would definitely recommend this book.
  • It was probably the best day of my life.
  • It is definitely not a good idea to skip meals.
  • It is definitely the right thing to do.
  • It is probably one of the best movies I’ve seen.
  • You will probably have a great time at the concert.
  • They are probably the best team in the league.
  • You would probably have a lot of fun at the amusement park.
  • It’s probably a good idea to start studying for the test.
  • It is definitely one of the best days to go shopping.
  • It’s probably the best time to invest in real estate.
  • It’s definitely a good time to start a new hobby.
  • It’s probably not a good idea to eat junk food.
  • It is definitely worth the effort.
  • It was definitely a memorable experience.
  • It’ll probably be sunny tomorrow.
  • It will probably not rain tomorrow.
  • It was probably a good decision to take that job.
  • It would definitely be fun to go on a road trip.

27 SHOULD PROBABLY BE 8871 28 IS PROBABLY GOING 8781 29 IS PROBABLY MORE 8631 30 WILL PROBABLY NEED 8525 31 ‘S DEFINITELY NOT 8030 32 IS PROBABLY BEST 7773 33 ARE PROBABLY NOT 7716 34 IS PROBABLY WHY 7591 35 WILL PROBABLY NEVER 7556 36 WILL PROBABLY GET 7542 37 IS DEFINITELY AN 7377 38 ‘LL PROBABLY HAVE 7200 39 WILL DEFINITELY USE 6988 40 WOULD PROBABLY NOT 6735 41 IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING 6695 42 WILL PROBABLY WANT 6446 43 SHOULD DEFINITELY BE 6328 44 IS PROBABLY MY 6182 45 ‘LL DEFINITELY BE 6178 46 ARE DEFINITELY NOT 6001 47 WAS DEFINITELY THE 5934 48 ‘D PROBABLY BE 5878 49 ‘VE PROBABLY HEARD 5709 50 ‘LL PROBABLY WANT 5523 51 ARE PROBABLY A 5396 52 WILL PROBABLY TAKE 5383 53 ‘RE PROBABLY NOT 5251 54 ARE PROBABLY GOING 5187 55 WILL DEFINITELY HELP 4971 56 WILL PROBABLY FIND 4963 57 ‘S DEFINITELY WORTH 4867 58 ‘RE PROBABLY GOING 4833 59 WILL DEFINITELY MAKE 4810 60 CAN DEFINITELY BE 4753 61 IS PROBABLY BECAUSE 4658 62 ARE DEFINITELY A 4621 63 WAS DEFINITELY NOT 4564 64 WOULD DEFINITELY USE 4478 65 HAS PROBABLY BEEN 4415 66 ‘LL PROBABLY GET 4397 67 CAN PROBABLY GET 4379 68 CAN DEFINITELY SEE 4356 69 ARE PROBABLY MORE 4314 70 WILL DEFINITELY HAVE 4227 71 ‘S PROBABLY BEST 4197 72 ‘S PROBABLY BECAUSE 4186 73 IS PROBABLY BETTER 4184 74 WAS PROBABLY ONE 4149 75 IS PROBABLY WHAT 4110 76 IS DEFINITELY MORE 4081 77 IS PROBABLY DUE 4024 78 COULD PROBABLY BE 3994 79 IS PROBABLY JUST 3974 80 IS DEFINITELY GOING 3958 81 YOUVE PROBABLY HEARD 3957 82 WILL PROBABLY GO 3947 83 ‘LL PROBABLY NEED 3907 84 ‘S PROBABLY GOING 3896 85 HAVE PROBABLY BEEN 3887 86 COULD PROBABLY GET 3833 87 IS PROBABLY AN 3719 88 WAS PROBABLY NOT 3650 89 ‘LL PROBABLY FIND 3637 90 CAN PROBABLY BE 3599 91 WILL PROBABLY END 3577 92 IS DEFINITELY ON 3552 93 ‘VE PROBABLY SEEN 3542 94 WILL PROBABLY DO 3513 95 WILL DEFINITELY GET 3503 96 WILL PROBABLY MAKE 3491 97 WILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND 3474 98 ARE DEFINITELY THE 3426 99 IS PROBABLY TOO 3315

100 HAS DEFINITELY BEEN 3247

For example:

I should probably start by looking at the bottom of the river.

listen

*side note, ‘at the bottom of the‘ is the 8th most frequent 5-word Ngram in English.

iWeb 129,473