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!)

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 !

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