Learn Hardcore Chinese: Rúguǒ tā bǎ biǎogé tián cuò le, shēnqǐng kěnéng huì shībài. - If she fills in the forms incorrectly, the application might fail.

Structure here: 如果 + condition，(就) + result
In the sentence:
- 如果她把表格填错了，申请可能会失败。
- Condition: 她把表格填错了 – she fills in the form incorrectly
- Result: 申请可能会失败 – the application might fail

So yes, 如果 functions like “if,” but it’s a bit more formal than colloquial 要是 (yàoshi), which is also common in speech.

Do we need 就 after the comma, like “如果……，就……”?

You can add 就 (jiù), but you don’t have to.

With 就:
- 如果她把表格填错了，申请就可能会失败。
- Feels slightly more explicit: “then the application might fail.”
Without 就 (as in the original):
- Still perfectly natural and grammatical.
- Slightly more neutral; many native speakers drop 就 in speech and writing.

So both versions are fine:

如果……，(就)…… – 就 is optional here.

What is the function of 把 in 她把表格填错了? Why not just say 她填错了表格?

把 (bǎ) marks the object (表格, the form) and emphasizes what happens to it.

她把表格填错了:
- Literally: “She took the form and filled it in incorrectly.”
- Pattern: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Result / Complement
- It highlights the resulting state of the object (the form is now incorrectly filled).

You can also say:

她填错了表格。
- Also correct and common.
- Slightly more neutral, without using the 把 construction.

The 把 sentence often feels a bit more focused on the form being affected:

With 把: focus on the form being messed up.
Without 把: more simply “she filled the form in wrong,” with less focus on the object’s changed state.

Both are natural; 把 is very typical when you want “do something to X and change its state.”

What exactly does 填错了 mean? How does 错 work here?

填错了 (tián cuò le) is:

填 – to fill in (a form, a blank, etc.)
错 – “wrongly / incorrectly”
了 – marks the completion of the action / the change of state

Together, 填错了 means “filled (it) in incorrectly” or “ended up filling it in wrong.”

Grammatically, 错 is a result complement:

填 + 错 = “fill (and the result is) wrong”
Examples:
- 写错了 – wrote it wrong
- 说错了 – said it wrong
- 看错了 – misread it

The 了 shows that this wrong filling has actually happened or is viewed as a completed event.

Why is 了 placed after 错 (填错了) and not immediately after 填?

In Mandarin, 了 usually goes at the end of the verb + result complement unit, not in the middle.

Pattern: Verb + Result + 了
- 填错了
- 写完了
- 吃饱了

You wouldn’t say 填了错, because 错 is tightly linked to 填 as its result.

So:

填错了 = “filled it (and the result is) wrong (completed).”
The whole 填错 is treated as one complex verb, and 了 marks its completion.

Why is there both 可能 and 会? Isn’t one “might/will” word enough?

可能 (kěnéng) and 会 (huì) overlap, but they’re not identical, and using both is very natural.

可能 = “possibly / maybe / it’s possible that…”
会 (in this sense) = “will / is likely to / has a tendency to”

可能会失败 together:

Often translates as “might fail,” “may well fail,” “could end up failing.”
可能 adds degree of possibility.
会 adds a sense of likely outcome / tendency.

You can say:

申请可能失败。 – OK, a bit more written/formal, sounds like “the application possibly fails.”
申请会失败。 – more like “the application will fail (given those conditions).”
申请可能会失败。 – natural, common, softens it to “might” rather than “definitely will.”

So it’s not redundant; it’s a smooth, standard collocation.

Can I just say 可能申请会失败 or 申请会可能失败? How fixed is the word order?

The natural word order is:

申请可能会失败。

You generally keep it as:

[Subject] + 可能 + 会 + [verb / predicate]

So:

申请可能会失败。 – natural
可能申请会失败。 – sounds off; 可能 is a sentence adverb and usually comes after the subject.
申请会可能失败。 – also unnatural; 会可能 is not a typical combination in this position.

Think of it as:

Subject (申请) → modal adverb (可能) → modal verb (会) → main verb (失败).

Who or what is the subject of 失败 in 申请可能会失败?

The subject is 申请 (shēnqǐng), which here means “the application” (a noun).

申请可能会失败。
- Subject: 申请 – the application
- Predicate: 可能会失败 – might fail

So the structure is:

[Application] + might fail.

There is no need to repeat 她 in the second clause:

English: “If she fills in the form wrong, the application might fail.”
Chinese: Subject of the second clause is clearly 申请, not 她, so it’s unambiguous.

What’s the nuance of 失败 compared with words like 不成功 or 被拒绝?

All relate to “not succeeding,” but they’re not identical:

失败 (shībài) – “to fail / failure”
- General word for failure.
- In this sentence: the application ends in failure (for whatever reason).
不成功 (bù chénggōng) – “not successful”
- Slightly softer/neutral; just says success did not happen.
- Could often replace 失败: 申请可能会不成功。 (OK, but less idiomatic than 失败 here.)
被拒绝 (bèi jùjué) – “to be rejected”
- Very specific: it was turned down.
- 申请可能会被拒绝。 = “The application might be rejected.”

In 申请可能会失败, 失败 is a general appraisal of the outcome (it doesn’t go through / doesn’t succeed), not necessarily specifying a formal rejection.

Could we omit 会 and just say 申请可能失败? Is it still correct?

Yes, 申请可能失败 is grammatically correct, especially in more written, compact styles.

Nuance:

申请可能失败。
- “The application possibly fails / may fail.”
- Slightly more formal or abstract.
申请可能会失败。
- Feels more conversational and natural in everyday modern Chinese.
- Smoothly corresponds to “might end up failing.”

So you can drop 会, but 可能会 is very common and idiomatic.

How formal or casual is this whole sentence? Would people say it in everyday speech?

The sentence is quite neutral and fits both everyday speech and written usage:

In speech, someone might also say:
- 要是她把表格填错了，申请可能会失败。
- Using 要是 instead of 如果 makes it more colloquial.
In writing (emails, instructions, warnings), 如果 is very standard and appropriate.

So:

如果她把表格填错了，申请可能会失败。
- Natural in spoken Mandarin (slightly careful speech).
- Fully appropriate in written Mandarin (instructions, notices, etc.).