eventually, finally, possibly
The English adverbs “eventually,” “finally” and “possibly” are often translated wrongly into French by learners. People learn techniques like converting “normal” (normal, in English) into “normalement” (normally) and général (general, in English) into “généralement” (generally). So they imagine that “eventuel” would convert into “eventuellement” and “possible” would become “possiblement.” But that is not the case.
Firstly, “eventuel” in French does not mean “eventual” in English. It means “possible” or “potential.” So “eventuellement” means “possibly.”
- il y aura Pierre et éventuellement Élodie (Pierre will be there and possibly Élodie)
So how do you translate “eventually” into French? That would be “finalement,” which can also mean “in the end” or “finally,” as well as meaning “in fact,” or “after all.”
- Finalement, ils sont arrivés avec une heure de retard (In the end they arrived an hour late)
So is “finalement” the best translation for “finally?” Yes, it’s fine, but you may prefer to use “enfin” to mean “finally.” For a start, it’s quicker to say, to write and to type, which makes it a more popular choice.
- Mon colis est enfin arrivé ! (My parcel has finally arrived!)
And if “eventuellement” means “possibly,” is it the best and most common way to translate “possibly” into French? Actually, no. The easiest way to translate “possibly” is “peut-être,” which also can mean “perhaps” or “maybe.”
- il va peut-être choisir l’autre (Possibly he will choose the other one)
Does that mean “possiblement” can’t be used to mean “possibly”? Actually, it is OK to use “possiblement” to mean “possibly.” But it is quicker to say “peut-être” than “possiblement,” so there is a natural preference for the former, which only has two syllables to the latter’s four.
