Hi there. This is Harry and welcome back to English lessons with Harry.
Yeah, that's me. Okay, so let's get on to the lesson.
So what are we going to talk about in this particular lesson?
Well, today, we're going to talk about making predictions, making predictions in English.
How to make predictions.
What they mean. Okay, so I'm going to give you some phrases, and then I'm going to go through them.
And I'll try and tell you which of these expressions that for making predictions are a little bit more formal, and some of them that are slightly less formal, some of them are neutral.
So you can use them in any particular situation.
So get making predictions and to predict something means to guess or to work out something might happen in the future.
So we might make a prediction about the weather, okay?
So is it going to rain?
Is the wind gonna blow is the Sun going to shine particularly if you're going to go on holidays or you going to have some sport event so you like to make some predictions so the first one is a little bit formal there's no likelihood of okay so there's no likelihood of snow this winter because the forecast suggests that it's going to rain but it's unlikely to turn to snow so there's likelihood of a white Christmas so when people get close to Christmas they always want to know are we going to have a white Christmas that the kids going to be able to make the snowmen go and have those lovely pictures
and photographs of snow outside and the snowman and all the things that go with that so wouldn't it be great if we could have a white Christmas but unfortunately this year there's no likelihood of no likelihood of a white Christmas there's no likelihood of the prices coming down anytime soon so we're likely to be paying more for the foreseeable future.
So there's no likelihood of any reduction in the prices.
Okay so we use this expression a lot when we're talking about inflation or inflationary impact on our economy.
There's no likelihood of.
Next it's unlikely that, well this is quite neutral, it's unlikely that I'm going to be able to come to the party, I think he had one of the kids has got to go somewhere and I'm gonna have to drop them there and then I'm gonna have to go and pick them up.
So by the time I do that, it's not going to be easy for me to get there.
So it's unlikely that I'll make it but I'll let you know and sure if things change show I can just call around there's no, no harm done.
Okay, so it's unlikely that I'll be able to get to your party, it's unlikely that I'm going to be able to call you tomorrow, I just don't think I'll have the time so I won't promise.
In fact, if I'm going to call you, I'll send you a text in advance, but I don't think it's going to happen.
So it's unlikely that I'll get the chance.
It's unlikely that I'll be in town over the next couple of weeks.
So could you get me the book?
Yeah, so perhaps if you're calling by that book shop, you can run in quickly get it I'll send you the name by text, because I'm not going to be able to get near town for the next couple of weeks.
It's unlikely that I'll be passing by, but you might and if you could that sure that would be great.
I'd really appreciate it.
There's absolutely no way there's absolutely no way that the boss is going to agree to your demands, looking for your salary to be increased by three or 4k.
It's just not going to happen.
Yeah. So you're you're really just I think he'll tell you just to go go away and think about it again, there's absolutely no way that he will agree to that.
He He might, he might agree to something a little lower and perhaps you should just ask him for a salary increase and see what he says without putting a gun to his head.
So why don't you go in and tell him the way you feel but without putting a figure.
Yeah. Okay, so there's absolutely no way that I can see that he's going to give you that salary increase.
There's absolutely no way that this government is going to get re -elected.
I mean really look at the mess they've made of the economy.
You know when things were good, they didn't give us tax breaks.
Now that things have gone a little worse.
All we see is price increases, price rises, price increases, job losses, so there's absolutely no way that I can see that this government is going to be reelected.
People would be mad to vote them in again.
Yeah. And if they do vote them in, well, they've only got themselves to blame.
So there's absolutely no way that I can see that they will get re -elected.
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Now the next one is a little bit more formal.
As Likely As Not, it's a little bit of a mouthful.
As Likely As Not, he'll call and cancel.
You know what he's like.
As Likely As Not, he'll cancel.
He did it the last time and if you remember he I think he did it the previous time so every time we invite him for dinner he's always got some excuse or something comes up and maybe he's just busy, maybe he's shy or maybe he doesn't want to say no maybe he just prefers his own company or maybe he doesn't doesn't like my cooking yeah so as likely as not meaning yeah there's every chance that he's going to cancel again, so don't be surprised if two days before we'll get a text saying ah something's come up i'm gonna have to take a rain check on that invitation.
So as likely as not, he's not going to come okay, as likely as not, I think this team is not going to win the league, they fluffed the lines last season, they were so close, and they didn't win.
So I think this season, I don't see it's going to be any different.
So you can talk about as likely as not in all of those type of situations, predictions.
Now the next and is a little bit more neutral or informal.
There's a good chance that okay there's a good chance that i'll actually be able to to join you on saturday because mary's away and the kids are with their grandparents so that there's a good chance if all that falls into place i'll pop around and we can watch the match together we can probably get a pizza and have a few beers yeah okay but i'll let you know for definite on thursday.
There's a good chance that i'm going to have to go away in two weeks time on that business trip, the order has come through, and they need somebody to go over and explain it to them.
So I'm probably have to going to jump on a plane, and I'd be there for I'd say no more than two or three days.
So there's a really good chance that that's what's going to happen.
But it'll be confirmed before the weekend.
So you're just making your business plans as to what might or might not happen.
And you're letting your partner know that he or she shouldn't expect you to be there for two or three days, probably during the week.
So there's a good chance that and again, something very similar the chances are so again, we're using that word chance the chances are that that building across the road is going to go ahead, they've listened to all of the objections from their local residents, nothing has changed.
So the chances are that they'll get the planning permission.
So we just need to keep our eyes open and watch out for when the truck starts to move in, and the bulldozers go in.
And that's when we really know.
So the chances are that that it'll get the green light, they'll get the go ahead from local government.
I mean, we need more apartments here.
There's a shortage.
But it's going to be messy for two years when the trucks are going up and down the street and the dirt and lots and lots of more traffic.
But now that's progress they say we're just we're just going to have to accept it, suck it up as they say, suck it up.
So the chances are that that building programme is going to get the green light.
Okay, so now the next couple again, similar type of expressions, but again, talking about predictions, seems inevitable.
So it seems inevitable that the economy is going to go through a difficult situation, the signs are there, they're ominous the signs, so I've noticed in the supermarket recently, most of the products that we buy are a few cents or more than a few cents more expensive week on week.
So it seems inevitable to me that that's what's going to happen.
Okay, so when we say it seems inevitable.
Yeah, we're making a prediction that is more than likely to happen.
Okay. It seems inevitable that he's going to drop out of college and with the results have been terrible, he doesn't seem to have a lot of interest. He spends most of his time on those computer games, and one or two of his friends have changed course recently.
So I think we'd better have a word with them and see what's going on.
But it seems inevitable to me.
So I think we would be better if we try to persuade him to go on another course.
If he's not enjoying this course, there's no point wasting his time, wasting our time, we'll just end up being very frustrated.
So it seems inevitable to me that he's gonna drop out is bound to okay so this is in the middle of an expression so for example the weather is bound to improve next week at this time of the year usually we get some good weather there'll be a little bit of rain but it's bound to improve I mean it couldn't be as bad as it has been over the winter so -so cold and lots of rain and girls wind storms and hurricanes that we had we don't want a repeat of that so the weather is bound to improve in fact any increase in the temperature from here would be an improvement even if it goes up to nine or ten degrees
it's going to be something so the weather is bound to improve and as we get nearer to the end of the month then we're going to get longer days more light at the end of the evening so yeah, I think our mood is bound to improve.
So we get more light, less rain, better weather.
Everybody's mood is bound to improve.
Okay, so is bound to means definitely it's yet, you can't see any reason why it won't change.
And you can't see any reason why your predictions will not come to is bound to.
Okay, and then the final one that we have, there's no doubt.
So when we use that expression there's no doubt well, we're really almost certain that something is or isn't going to happen.
There's no doubt in my mind that that's the correct decision.
There's no doubt in my mind that the company is going to close down and I'm sure in the next month or two we'll be getting some announcement from head office and we all have to look for other jobs.
There's no doubt that this is the correct way for the government to respond.
You know, when there's inflation, they have to increase interest rates or indeed, they're going to have to increase taxation to cover all of these costs.
There's absolutely no doubt that that's what's going to happen.
So, when we use There's No Doubt, it means that our predictions are almost 100 % guaranteed to come true, okay?
there's no doubt. So let me go through those predictions or making predictions again.
As I said some of them are more formal than others some of them are neutral and you try to include them in your everyday conversations.
There's no likelihood of snow this winter.
It's unlikely that they'll ever get married.
There's absolutely no way that the boss is going to agree to that salary demand.
As likely as not, he'll cancel, he always does.
There's a good chance that I'll be able to make it to the party after all.
The chances are pretty slim.
So, we can say two hopes.
No hope, and the old comedian Bob Hope.
There's no hope, so the chances are pretty slim.
It seems inevitable that that's the way it's going to go.
It seems inevitable.
Yeah, the economy is bound to pick up.
The weather is bound to improve.
The team is bound to get better if they sign those new players.
And then finally, yeah, there's no doubt that's the way to do it.
There's no doubt in my mind that that's what will happen.
Okay, so when you want to make predictions, as I said, predicting the result of the football match, predicting the result of the general election, predicting the result of whether going to be a boy or girl whatever you're making the predictions you can use some of these expressions to help you so make predictions in English if you can try, practice them if you don't understand them come back to me and I'll give you some more examples and try to help you out.
As always I really appreciate you listening and watching and as always join me again soon.
