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Il va probablement pleuvoir ce soir.

Il va probablement pleuvoir ce soir.
It will probably rain tonight.
From Lesson 288:Probability and improbability (il est probable que)·French

Breakdown of Il va probablement pleuvoir ce soir.

aller
to go
ce soir
tonight
pleuvoir
to rain
probablement
most likely

Questions & Answers about Il va probablement pleuvoir ce soir.

Since this lesson is about il est probable que, how would I rewrite this sentence using that phrase?
You would say Il est probable qu'il va pleuvoir (or qu'il pleuvra). Because probable indicates a high likelihood, it is followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive. This matches the certainty expressed by the adverb probablement in our current sentence.
If I wanted to say it is unlikely to rain tonight, how would that change the grammar?
To express improbability, you would use the phrase il est peu probable que (it is unlikely that). Because this expresses doubt rather than certainty, it forces the verb into the subjunctive mood: Il est peu probable qu'il pleuve ce soir.
Why is probablement placed right in the middle of the verbs?
In French, when you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like the futur proche here with va + pleuvoir), short adverbs or adverbs of probability are usually sandwiched right between them. English speakers often want to put the adverb at the end, but French prefers Il va probablement pleuvoir.
Can I use ça instead of il here, as in ça va probablement pleuvoir?
No, weather verbs like pleuvoir (to rain) are strictly impersonal and must always take the dummy pronoun il. Even in informal spoken French, you cannot replace this specific il with ça.

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