Speculating things

Here are some ways of talking about what we think might happen, when we don't really know.

No doubt the Joneses will be there.
It's unlikely that she'll come now.
I bet/You can bet (that) they'll be late.
I imagine (that) it'll be busy.
The chances are that he'll win.
There's no chance of them coming now.
In all probability, it will be raining.
My guess is that she'll lose.
There's just a chance that it will work.
I wouldn't be surprised if it rained.

Explanations

• Phrase 6 suggests that we are certain that something is not going to happen.
• Phrases 1,2 and 7 are a little weaker. They are used when we think something is very likely or unlikely to happen.
• Phrase 3 is similar to phrase 1, but less formal.
• Phrases 4, 5, 8 and 10 are used when we think something is quite likely, but we aren't really very confident of it.
• Phrase 9 is much weaker. We think that something is unlikely, but is possible.