possibly

Word family

pos·si·bly /ˈpɒsəbli $ ˈpɑː-/ S1 W2 adverbadv

1 MAYBEused when saying that something may be true or likely, although you are not completely certain 可能，也许，或许 SYN perhaps, maybe

This last task is possibly the most difficult.

这最后一项任务也许是最难的。

It will take three weeks, possibly longer.

要花三个星期，也许更久。

‘Will you be here tomorrow?’ ‘Possibly.’

“你明天到这儿来吗？”“也许吧。”

‘Was it murder?’ ‘Quite possibly (=it is very likely).’

“是谋杀吗？”“很可能是。”

2 spokenSURPRISED used to emphasize that you are very surprised or shocked by something, or you cannot understand it 竟然〔用于强调惊讶、震惊或不能理解〕

How could anyone possibly do such a thing?

怎么竟会有人做出这样的事？

3 could/can you possibly spokenASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO something used when making a polite request 请你…可以吗？〔用于礼貌地请求〕

Could you possibly close that window?

您能把那扇窗关上吗？

Examples from the Corpus

could/can you possibly• How can they possibly control such success?• But what on earth can he possibly have been trying to prove?• What conversation could we possibly have had there, then?• But what else could she possibly hope to see? she wondered miserably.• How could she possibly know, since he had not set eyes on the girl?• What can I possibly say now?• What could she possibly tell him, that he would want to hear?

4 TRY TO DO OR GET somethingused to emphasize that someone will do or has done everything they can to help or to achieve something 尽可能

We shall be contributing as much as we possibly can to the campaign.

我们将尽最大努力为这场运动做出贡献。

Doctors did everything they possibly could to save his life.

医生们竭尽所能挽救他的生命。

5 REFUSEused to emphasize that you cannot do something, or that something cannot or could not happen or be done 〔用于强调不可能〕

can’t/couldn’t possibly

I can’t possibly allow you to go home in this weather.

我不可能让你在这种天气回家。

She couldn’t possibly have heard what was said.

她不可能听见说了什么。

Examples from the Corpus

possibly• He looked at me as though I were very young and possibly a trifle slow.• Stone is possibly America's finest film director.• Could it possibly apply to human beings?• Many analysts believe interest rates will rise, possibly as early as next spring.• The examination hall was vast, with at least 700 or 800 student and quite possibly as many as 1000.• No such claim could possibly be made for the Smolensk, Kursk, or Poltava gubernii.• The cancer was possibly caused by exposure to asbestos.• How could anyone possibly do that to her?• Trade between the two countries began in the 11th century, possibly even earlier.• He's playing in the US Open Golf Championships - possibly for the last time.• You can't possibly go to all those stores in one day.• The cilia in the respiratory tract hasten the exit from the body of possibly harmful foreign material.• He's going to stay at least three weeks, possibly longer.• In the following pages a number of the more visible and possibly more successful and productive organizations are identified and described.• I have everything I could possibly need.• No-one else can possibly picture what you suffer.• They may insist on payment by instalments, possibly spread throughout the whole of your notice period.

Quite possibly• Why did she churn so agitatedly in my stomach? Quite possibly I was the only one who found her frightful.• Yet another mill had been added to the growing Playne empire. Quite possibly it reverted to its former use.• Would an effective theory of how advertising works have helped? Quite possibly, it would have made little difference.

How could ... possibly• How could I possibly countenance such thoughts?• I remember, that first night, sitting here thinking, how could we possibly do all that?• How could it possibly happen to him?• How could Luke Denner possibly have driven Mark to his death?• How could I possibly have forgotten that church?• How could she possibly know, since he had not set eyes on the girl?• How could she possibly know that he was wading in blood from a self-inflicted wound?• Who would drive us there and how could we possibly pay some one enough to take such a risk?

pos·si·bly adverbadv

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus