Il gèlera sûrement demain soir.

Question

The above sentence in one of the tests is translated as : It will probably freeze tomorrow night. In English, probably implies less certainty than surely - is that not the same in French?
(Apologies if this is beside the point of the lesson!)

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Anne,
Despite its etymology (coming from "sûr" meaning "sure"), "sûrement" is often used in everyday French to express a strong probability rather than absolute certainty. So, while the literal translation of "sûrement" to "surely" might seem more accurate, the translation to "probably" in this case is actually a good interpretation of the intended meaning in conversational French.
Take a look at the link below:
I question the English translation of sûrement
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Jim Jones · Answer

Bonjour Annehttps://www.wordreference.com/fren/s%C3%BBrementAccording to the WordReference dictionary, sûrement can also be used to express certainty depending on context. Bonne journéeJim

Anne Davies · Answer

Thanks for the useful link Céline - as always, you’ve understood the point I was trying to make!