Other languages (like Greek) are more explicit because there are different forms of the verb that distinguish between counterfactuals, probabilities, and improbabilities.
My mom's always had a gift for languages. She learns languages like it's nothing. She used to tease us as kids by writing the contents of our wrapped presents on the outside--in heiroglyphics! Some of it rubbed off on me, at least the constant drilling on grammar. But I'm a slang guy, so I don't really follow the rules all time. That one always stuck with me. She used to also say "you lay something down and it lies there" to help us understand the difference between lay and lie.