Breakdown of Es poco probable; capaz que no encuentren el lugar.
ser
to be
no
no, not
encontrar
to find
el lugar
the place
Questions & Answers about Es poco probable; capaz que no encuentren el lugar.
Why is encuentren in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative?
The phrase capaz que translates to 'maybe' or 'might'. It can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, but using the subjunctive (encuentren) expresses a higher degree of doubt. This fits perfectly here because the first half of the sentence just declared the situation to be poco probable (unlikely).
Would it be wrong to use the indicative (encuentran) after capaz que?
It wouldn't be grammatically wrong. You will often hear capaz que followed by the indicative in everyday Latin American Spanish when the speaker feels their guess is fairly grounded. However, in this specific sentence, the subjunctive encuentren sounds more natural because the strong doubt is already set up by es poco probable.
Is capaz que used everywhere to mean 'maybe'?
capaz que is very common in conversational Latin American Spanish, especially in the Southern Cone (like Argentina and Uruguay) and Mexico. It is a casual alternative to quizás or tal vez. In Spain, however, it is rarely used this way; a speaker there would more likely say puede que.
Why does the sentence use poco probable instead of un poco probable?