Acaso sea él quien lo hizo.
Perhaps it was him who did it.
Acaso tengamos que recordárselo.
Perhaps we may have to remind him/her.In questions, however, acaso is followed by an indicative verb, conveying sarcasm and
annoyance rather than uncertainty, and used frequently in the spoken language,
especially in familiar address.
¿Acaso no te dije que no lo hicieras?
Didn’t I tell you not to do it?
¿Acaso no sabías que había que entregarlo hoy?
Didn’t you know it had to be handed in today?A lo mejor, ‘perhaps’, which takes the indicative, is very common in the spoken
language.
A lo mejor se casan.
Maybe/perhaps they will get married.
A lo mejor están fuera de Madrid.
Maybe/perhaps they are away from Madrid.
A lo mejor iremos a Cuba.
Perhaps we’ll go to Cuba.48.1.7 Seguramente, ‘probably’
Seguramente, which is found on its own or with an indicative verb, is used in
preference to probablemente when the speaker feels that the event being referred to is
more likely to happen.
¿Crees que ganarán el partido? – Seguramente.
Do you think they will win the match? – Probably.
Seguramente lloverá.
It will probably rain.^49 (p. 291)
48.1.8 Deber (de)+ infinitive
This construction with deber (de), ‘must’, plus infinitive, is specially common in the
spoken language. Although the preposition de serves to differentiate this expression
from deber+ infinitive, which expresses obligation, most speakers tend to omit it, with
the result that there is no difference in form between the two expressions. However,
the context or the type of verb will normally establish the appropriate meaning. 21.2 (p. 100)
¿Dónde está Ignacio? – No lo sé, debe (de) estar en el patio.
Where is Ignacio? – I don’t know, he must be in the patio.
Deben (de) ser más de las seis.
It must be past six o’clock.EXPRESSING POSSIBILITY AND PROBABILITY 48.1