48.1.14 Other ways of expressing possibility and impossibility
Possibility and impossibility can also be conveyed through expressions such as the
following:Hay muchas/pocas probabilidades de+ infinitive ‘there is a good/little
chance of.. .’
Hay muchas/pocas probabilidades de que + subjunctive ‘there is a
good/little chance that.. .’
Tener mucha/poca probabilidad de+ infinitive ‘to have a good/little
chance of.. .’
(No) tener la posibilidad de+ infinitive ‘(not) to have a chance to.. .’
No tener ninguna posibilidad/posibilidad alguna de+ infinitive ‘not
to have any chance (at all) of.. .’
No tener ninguna posibilidad/posibilidad alguna de que+
subjunctive ‘not to have any chance (at all) of.. .’
Hay pocas probabilidades de sobrevivir/de que sobrevivan.
There is little chance of surviving/that they may survive.El equipo tiene mucha/poca probabilidad de ganar.
The team has a good/little chance of winning.
No tiene ninguna posibilidad de ser aceptado/de que lo acepten.
He has no chance at all of being accepted/by them.48.2 Enquiring whether something is considered possible
or impossibleThe expressions most commonly used to enquire about possibility or probability are
the following:48.2.1 ¿Se puede+ infinitive?
This construction with poder, which is usually found in the present, is the one most
commonly used when inquiring about possibility in an impersonal way.
¿Se puede llamar a Londres desde aquí?
Can one call London from here?¿Se puede marcar directamente?
Can one dial directly?It can also be preceded by question words, as in:¿Cómo se puede viajar a Toledo?
How can one travel to Toledo?
¿Qué se puede hacer?
What can one do?Apart from the present, the tense most commonly associated with it is the
conditional:Enquiring whether something is considered possible or impossible 48.2