[Grammar] can

[Joern Matthias]

Hello everybody,

Let's imagine l am watching a friend of mine playing a tennis match and someone asks me ' Do you think he can beat his opponent?'
I would say 'Yes, he can.'
But what if I use the word 'happen' here meaning that my friend playing can beat his opponent, could I say 'Yes, it can happen.'
In other words, is can possible in this sentence or should I say ' Yes, it is possible to happen.' or ' Yes, it is able to happen.' or
' Yes, it will happen.' or ' Yes, it could happen.' ?

Looking forward to your answers

Joern

 

[emsr2d2]

In order of my preference, here are the natural answers to that question:

- Yes.
- Yes, he can.
- Possibly/Maybe.
- It could happen!

"It can happen" is grammatical but, for me, doesn't fit here.
Don't use "It is possible to happen" or "It is able to happen" at all. They're not grammatical.