Stop Saying: "Maybe"

(upbeat music)

- You wanna go out tonight?

- Maybe.

- Are you winning?

- Maybe.

- Are you gonna be done soon?

- Maybe.

- I wanna watch Hamilton, is it good?

- Maybe.

- Well, have you heard anything about it?

- Maybe.

- Oh my god, is that all you can say? Maybe.

This is why you're a douche.

- Today we're talking about probability.

Of course, maybe, that's fine.

You can still say maybe.

But, two things.

One, this video will help you improve your vocabulary.

Two, I often hear a lot of common mistakes with maybe.

So let's start.

Oh, hey, I have an ebook now.

It's full of worksheets from my favorite videos.

There's drawings in there, there's monsters.

Okay, I lied, there's no monsters.

But there's definitely drawings and vocabulary

to help you with your English studies.

You can find it on my Patreon.

The link is in the description.

Sometimes I hear students say this,

and it's a very common mistake.

- Hey, I'm gonna get ice cream, you wanna go with me?

- Maybe I go.

- Maybe I go, that's not correct.

I think I know why people make this mistake.

Maybe is not a modal verb, but may is.

So, I may go.

I may go, that works.

It's very formal, it's not casual,

and in casual conversation, I wouldn't say it.

But grammatically, it's fine. It's good.

But maybe I go, no.

I maybe go, definitely no.

So, if may is quite formal and not very casual,

let's instead use the modal verb, might.

It's much better, let me show you.

- Hey, I'm gonna get ice cream, you wanna go with me?

- I might go.

- If you say I might with a verb,

it just means maybe I'll do this thing.

And this is where it gets fun.

Listen to this version of that same answer.

- Do you wanna get ice cream?

- Might do.

Again, this structure, it just means maybe.

Just use might with an auxiliary verb.

What is an auxiliary verb?

Great question, there are three auxiliary verbs.

Do, be, and have.

In this case, you can see the main verb is want,

but the auxiliary verb, do.

That is the verb that gives it the tense.

Is it past, present, future?

Are we talking first, second, third person?

In this case, it's do.

So, we put, might, match the auxiliary verb,

might do, and that response just means, maybe,

and we use this all the time.

Like, all the time.

Now, pronunciation, I would say it like this.

Might do, might do.

I glottalize that T, might do.

It flows nicer that way.

You don't have to, it's a choice.

You could pronounce the T properly,

you could say, might do.

That's fine too, your choice.

But we need to practice that pronunciation and use.

So, I will ask you a question.

You just say this in response.

It's real life practice, okay.

Does your friend like pizza?

Okay, but, other auxiliary verbs.

You see a girl and you're like,

that football shirt, is that Brazilian?

So you ask your friend.

Hey, is she Brazilian?

Your friend isn't sure.

So he says, maybe, using might.

Think about the auxiliary verb here.

Your answer would be, yes, she is,

or, no, she isn't.

The auxiliary verb is be.

So, not sure, might be.

Again, it just means, maybe she is, I don't know.

Pronunciation, again, you can choose.

With that T, do you want to use the true T or glottal T?

True T, might be, that's fine.

Glottal T, I often use this,

might be, might be.

For me, that flows better.

Again, it's a style, it doesn't matter.

You choose, and now I'll ask you a question.

Answer using this.

So, is your best friend

better at English than you?

Not after this lesson.

You're amazing, you're gonna be

better than your best friend.

And finally, he wants to know

if his friend has seen this movie.

She can't remember.

She wants to say, maybe I have.

How can she say that?

We just match the auxiliary verb.

In this case, it's a present perfect,

so the auxiliary is have, might have.

"Batman Zombie," might have.

She could say the full sentence,

like I might have seen it.

But that's too long and no one has

that much time in the day.

So finally, let's practice with this one.

Pronunciation first.

You have options.

So, might have, that's fine.

Might have, might have,

you're glottalizing that T sound, and it's fine.

Might have will smash it together.

Might've, might've.

That's very, very lazy, very short.

But again, it's fine.

Now I will ask you a question.

Answer with a maybe using this.

Your friend, your best friend,

have they seen the last Marvel movie?

Also notice that modal verbs, they don't change.

They don't change for he, she, it.

For example, he mights, no, that doesn't exist.

Also, it doesn't change for different time tenses.

For example.

- I'm bored. Come with me to the pub tonight.

- I might will.

- No, not might will.

We have two modal verbs here.

Typically we don't put two modal verbs together.

With this, the time tense won't change,

we will understand the time from context.

So which auxiliary verb should we use here?

Well, it's definitely not be,

and it's not present perfect,

so, might do, that's the correct answer to this question.

So, just might and the auxiliary verb.

Side note, we're talking about probability

with might, right?

Well, probability and possibility

are often used in very similar ways.

Often to mean the same thing.

So we can also use, could.

It also expresses a maybe,

but it's more about the possibility of something,

For example.

- Sorry, love, do you wanna play Xbox?

- Yeah, could do.

- Are you pregnant?

- I don't know, could be.

- Have you got a baby in there?

- I don't know, could have.

- Wow.

- So, could and might,

they both serve the same function in some contexts.

They both mean maybe, but there is a difference.

Could specifically talks about the possibility of something.

Is it possible or not?

Might specifically talks about the probability of something.

Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't happen.

But basically, basically,

when you use could or might with an auxiliary verb,

they can mean the same thing, maybe.

Now, sometimes you want to say, maybe, yes.

Or, maybe no, or, maybe, 50 50.

Completely in the middle.

Here are the most common expressions that you can use

to mean all of those things.

First, expressions to mean maybe yes,

or, I think, yes.

You really want a holiday.

So you ask your friend,

do you think that we'll be able to go on holiday this year?

And your friend wants to say, maybe, yes.

Or, I think yes.

If you say, I think yes, that's not correct.

Instead, say, I think so.

The so means yes, I think so.

We can also say, probably,

I guess so, or, I suppose so.

Again, all of these just mean maybe yes.

Or finally, yeah, I reckon so.

I reckon is like, I think.

But it's more British.

Americans don't use it as much as we do.

But again, it's fine for everyone to use.

So use it.

So again, you just need to learn one new expression

to boost your vocabulary for today.

So, choose your favorite one.

I will ask you a question, repeat it back to me.

Ready?

Are you going to sleep early tonight?

You're amazing.

Okay, cool.

But if we want to say, maybe no,

or, I think no.

For example, if you bought your friend

a birthday present, a big block of cheese.

Personally, I would like this as a birthday present,

but I guess some people don't like it.

So if he asked,

do you think Maria is going to like her birthday present?

And she thinks, maybe no,

she can say these things.

Probably not.

Doubt it, she's vegan and it's cheese, so.

Or of course, I don't think so.

Again, here, the so is like the, yes.

So, I don't think yes.

So let's practice these.

Choose your favorite response.

I'm going to ask you a question.

You respond with your favorite one.

And then boom, it's in your vocabulary forever.

Oh, hi, question for you.

Do you think that this year you're going to

make a million pounds, dollars,

or whatever your currency is?

But what if you're thinking, maybe,

it's like 50 50, to be honest.

For example, you're walking with your friend to a party.

And your friend says this.

I'm hungry, do you think there's food at this party, or?

But of course you haven't got a clue.

So how can you respond, maybe, 50 50.

Now of course, of course, maybe is fine.

But these videos are to improve your vocabulary,

to make it richer.

So, could be.

We looked at this earlier.

We're saying it's possible, so you have that option.

We're right in the middle, 50 50.

So, do you think there is food at the party?

We're matching that auxiliary verb.

Could be, I don't know, could be.

And yes, of course, might be.

That's fine too.

Perhaps.

This is also very common to read, write, say.

And it's a bit, not a lot,

it's a bit more formal than just maybe.

Now, I've written these two because they exist,

conceivably, I like the sound of it,

but honestly, you might read it in the paper

or something like that, in a formal setting,

so it's good to know.

Conceivably, practice the pronunciation.

Con, conceivably.

And here, perchance.

This one, you're never gonna hear it.

You're never gonna hear it.

Okay, that's a lie.

You might hear it if you're watching

an old English movie or reading an old English book

from like the 1800s.

And again, they all just mean, maybe.

So, thanks for watching.

Try to use some of the expressions from today's video

in the comments using your own examples.

If you make the examples relevant to your life,

you have a better chance of really learning

and remembering them.

Also let me know what you want to see in a future lesson,

and I'll see you in the next class.

(gentle music)