0
Geoyo Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

Estimate

Hello, I'm looking for a word similar to 'estimate' or 'assess' someone else or myself. However I'm unsure whether these words are appropriate. Some examples:

"I am not sure about his true intentions, his behavior is hard to estimate"
"I know when I drink too much alcohol, I'm good at estimating myself"

These sentences sound kind of wrong to my ears, is there a better way of saying it?
  

Top answer

I am not sure about his true intentions ; his behavior is hard to [gauge / second guess / guess at / predict]. I know when I drink too much alcohol, I'm not ? ].

— CalifJim

  • I am not sure about his true intentions ; his behavior is hard to [gauge / second guess / guess at / predict].
  • I know when I drink too much alcohol, I'm not ?
  • ].
  • I'm a little less sure what you mean in the second sentence.
  • CJ
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
I am not sure about his true intentions; his behavior is hard to [gauge / second guess / guess at / predict].

I know when I drink too much alcohol, I'm not? good at [controlling myself / reasoning / thinking coherently / ?].

I'm a little less sure what you mean in the second sentence.

CJ
0
0
Thank you CalifJim. I think 'to gauge' comes the most close to the meaning I'm looking for. Would it be natural in the first example or are the other words a better fit?

I'll try to explain what I mean in the second sentence. What I want to say is that I know my own limits, e.g. I will not drink until I pass out because I know my body's limits, I can estimate when it's time to stop drinki
0
0
geoyo I think 'to gauge' comes the most close to the meaning I'm looking for. Would it be natural in the first example or are the other words a better fit?
I think 'gauge' is natural (pronounced 'gage', by the way, in case you didn't know). The other words are possible, but I wouldn't say they're necessarily better.
geoyoIn my language
0
0
Yes, I guess there's no way to say it in English. "I know my limits" basically conveys what I want to say, I was just curious if the wording I chose with "I can gauge/estimate myself / my limits" is possible. Apparently, there is no such idiom in English.

"I know when I drink too much alcohol..."

What I wanted to say was "I know when the time has come that I have drunk too much"
0
0
geoyoI'm surprised that the sentence above is not correct. Isn't it the same?
Here's what you have: I know when I drink too much alcohol, I'm good at estimating myself.

It means I know that --- [when(ever) I drink too much alcohol, I'm good at estimating myself].

Your punctuation has given the wrong signal.

You n
0
0
Thank you CalifJim, it's a bit puzzling but I now understand the difference.
0

Related Questions