When cracking a physical puzzle, you often need to guess what to do next. To express likelihood or propose a theory, use the phrase a lo mejor ("maybe" or "perhaps").
The certainty of "a lo mejor"
Even though it expresses a guess, a lo mejor is unique in Spanish because it is always followed by the indicative mood (the standard, everyday tenses). Unlike other phrases that express doubt, it never takes the subjunctive.
| Maybe the sequence changes if you turn the dial. | A lo mejor la secuencia cambia si giras el dial. |
| Maybe we have to align the sequence again. | A lo mejor tenemos que volver a alinear la secuencia. |
You can use a lo mejor to talk about possibilities in any timeframe just by changing the tense of the indicative verb.
| Maybe the knob got stuck because you turned the dial. | A lo mejor la perilla se atascó porque giraste el dial. |
| Maybe the key is in that hole or in the slot. | A lo mejor la llave está en ese hueco o en la ranura. |
Planning ahead: "por si" and "incluso si"
As you keep exploring, you might need to take precautions "just in case" (por si) or test a mechanism "even if" (incluso si) it seems stuck. When stating facts, habits, or likely outcomes, these phrases also trigger the indicative mood.
| Put the knob here just in case we need to align the symbols. | Pon la perilla aquí por si necesitamos alinear los símbolos. |
| Even if you move the floor tile, the mechanism keeps getting stuck. | Incluso si mueves la baldosa, el mecanismo sigue atascándose. |
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