Can't expect...

Question

What does "expect" mean in the circumstances?

"You can't expect him to kill his own brother!"

"You can't expect me to believe that."

"I don't expect to be able to know the answer."

"You are expected to know the answer as you have taken this course."

Clive · Accepted Answer

Do the meanings listed in your dictionary not help you with these sentences?

Clive

Clive · Answer

What does "expect" mean in the circumstances?

"You can't expect him to kill his own brother!" consider (something) to be reasonable

"You can't expect me to believe that." consider (something) to be reasonable

"I don't expect to be able to know the answer." think that something will probably or certainly happen

"You are expected to know the answer as you have taken this course." consider (something) to be reasonable, required, or necessary

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Learner's definition of EXPECThttps://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/expect 1 [+ object] : to think that something will probably or certainly happen

We expect (that) the economy will improve. = We expect the economy to improve.
As expected, the election was very close.
Costs have been higher than expected. = Costs have been higher than they were expected to be.

[+] more examples — often followed by to + verb

2 [+ object] : to think that (someone or something) will arrive or that (something) will happen

[+] more examples 3 [+ object] : to consider (something) to be reasonable, required, or necessary

[+] more examples 4 always used in progressive tenses, [no object] : to be pregnant

: to be due to give birth

She's expecting next month. [=she will probably give birth next month; her baby will probably be born next month]

5 [+ object] informal : to suppose or think— usually used after I

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